Most of us have often heard the term IP address from one or the other of our technicians whenever we had a connectivity issue or it was anything related to the internet and just wondered what it could be. This article is going to brief you everything about IP address and what is their significance? An IP address was discovered after the internet users in the early years felt the need of finding out a way that could help them identify the different computer systems so they could be connected together easily whenever it was required. These work just like our telephone numbers. If we dial the same number, we hear the same person. Similarly, every time you dial the same number, you will get the same computer! Just like our telephone number or our residential address has information about our location, an IP address of a computer has all the information about the computer and it makes it easier to connect to that computer.
The IP (internet protocol) addresses are assigned to any device that is capable of being connected to an internet connection (like a mobile phone, computer, printer, console, GPS etc.) and includes 32-bit numbers that are used for identifying a network and addressing it. Out of all the 32 bits, the numbers that are mentioned are called the ‘octets’ as they have 8 positions and they use the binary system of numbers, i.e. these bits or the numbers can be either 1 or 0 or on or off as they are called.