📘 08-02: IP Address Structure¶

❓ What is an IP Address?¶

An IP address is a unique identifier assigned to each device in a network. It is used to identify and locate devices on the Internet for communication.

🔢 IPv4 Address Format¶

An IPv4 address consists of 32 bits divided into 4 octets (8 bits each).

Example: 192.168.1.10

Each octet ranges from 0 to 255.

So, an IPv4 address ranges from: 0.0.0.0 → 255.255.255.255

📌 Binary Representation¶

Each octet of an IPv4 address is represented in binary.

Example: 192.168.1.10 → 11000000.10101000.00000001.00001010

🔢 Structure of an IPv4 Address¶

An IPv4 address consists of two logical parts:

Network Portion → Identifies the network
Host Portion → Identifies the specific device within that network

These portions are: - continuous (no gaps) - determined by the subnet mask

📌 Example Breakdown¶

IPv4 Address: 192.168.1.10
Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 (/24)

First 24 bits → Network part → 192.168.1
Last 8 bits → Host part → 10

📌 Binary Example Breakdown¶

IP Address: 172.16.5.10 → 10101100.00010000.00000101.00001010

Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0 (/16) → 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000

Explanation: - First 16 bits (1s) → Network portion → 172.16
- Last 16 bits (0s) → Host portion → 5.10

💡 Key Idea¶

An IP address alone does not define the network boundary.

A subnet mask is required to determine: - which part is the network - which part is the host

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