Today, we will be discussing one of the basic networking topics What is an IP Address?, Purpose of IP Addressing, IP Address version, Subnet Mask and Wild Card Mask, etc.
Let’s begin with our today’s topic:
History of IP Address
The TCP/IP development began in 1974. Scientists Bob Kahn and Vint Cerf started this project and developed the TCP/IP. The first major version of Internet Protocol was version 4. After that, In 1984 it was formally defined in RFC 791.
The successor of IPv4 is IP version 6 (IPv6), which was formalized by the IETF in 1988. It was developed due to the increasing Internet users day by day and IPv4 address was limited and half of them was already consumed.
What is an IP Address?
An Internet Protocol address is a logical address assign to a particular network and the host within the network. In addition, to communicate over the internet or within the network, Hosts need the unique address scheme for there identification and to identify other hosts over the network. In conclusion, we use Internet Protocol address as an addressing scheme for the hosts and networks.
Every machine on a network has a unique identifier and most networks use today the TCP/IP protocol as a standard for communication.
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Think About IP Address like this:
Suppose Bob lives in a Texas and he wants to send a letter to his friend John living in San Francisco. To post a letter to John, Bob requires the unique postal address of the John so that letter delivers to the bob address.
Therefore, in the networking world. The addressing of the host is an important part and the hosts need to be assign the unique and correct address according to the Internet Protocol address scheme for its identification and communication.
So, Internet Protocol Address is a scheme which is assign to networks and hosts, networking device like a switch, routers, firewalls, etc. for the communication within the network and outside world(Internet).
IP Address Versions: IPv4 and IPv6
There are two standards of the Internet Protocol Addresses: IP Version 4 (IPv4) and IP Version 6 (IPv6).
Let’s discuss each of them.
IP Version 4 (IPv4)
IPv4 was deployed in January 1983 and it is most commonly use in today’s network. With the concept of NAT( Network Address Translation), we are still able to use the IPv4. IPv4 addresses are 32-bit numbers. An IPv4 is expressed by the four octets in dotted decimal notation. For example 1.1.1.1
The total number of IPv4 addresses are 232 which means maximum 4,294,967,296 or 4.3 billion Internet Protocol addresses are there in version 4.
IP Version 6 (IPv6)
IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol. With the rapid growth of the internet, users and devices are increasing day by day. Therefore, it is impossible for the IPv4 to address all the devices on the globe. To meet the increasing demand of the users, IPv6 is the revolutionary movement in the Internet Addressing.
IPv6 addresses are 128-bit numbers and are typically displayed in hexadecimal strings. For example, 2070:0:0:2:8:200:20AC:216B.
All the modern network devices support the IPv6 addressing scheme.
The total number of IPv6 addresses are 2128 or 340 duodecillion.
Difference between IP version 4 and IP version 6.
The Internet Protocol version 4 and version 6 both helps in logical addressing of the hosts and networks but have few differences. For instance, see the below comparison table to find out the difference. After that, we will discuss the Classes of IP addresses.
Classes of IP Addresses
The IP version 4 addressing system is divided into five classes of Internet Protocol address namely Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D and Class E. Each class has its own significance and requirements. All the five classes are identified by the first octet of the Internet Protocol Address.
Public IP Address
In the IPv4 addressing scheme, IPv4 addresses are divided into two parts: Public and Private Internet Protocol Address. The Public Internet Protocol addresses are globally unique and routable via the Internet. These Internet Protocol addresses are managed by the Regional Internet Registries(RIR). Therefore, End users do not have the direct control over these IP address and end users and customers have to take them on lease from the ISP’s.
The Regional Internet Registries (RIR) are the non-profit organizations which manage the role of the distribution of Internet Protocol address. The Internet Service Provider purchase the pool of Public Internet Protocol address from the RIR and further assign those address to organizations and individuals on a chargeable basis.
Features of Public IP Address:
- They are unique all over the world and customers needs to pay for them to ISP.
- The public Internet Protocol address is rout-able over the internet and can be easily reach anywhere from the globe.
- We use the Exterior Routing Protocol for the routing of Public IP. Therefore, we use BGP( Border Gateway Protocol).
- It is mostly use to connect the organizations over the Internet and is not use for internal communication within the organization.
Private IP Address
Private Internet Protocol address is not globally unique and are free to use. They are use for communication within the organizations. Therefore, these addresses are reserve for private networks and are not rout-able over the Internet. Private Internet Protocol addresses are not recognized over the Internet. With the concept of NAT, we can translate the Private Internet Protocol addresses into the Public Internet Protocol address for the communication over the internet.
Difference between Public IP and Private IP:
Let’s discuss some of the basic difference between the Public and Private IP addresses.
Next, we will discuss the Static and Dynamic Internet Protocol Address.
Static IP Address
A static Internet Protocol address is an address that is permanently assign to anyone ( For Website, For Organization, etc.) by your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and it does not change itself even after the machine reboots.
Static IP’s are use for those devices which require constant access. For example, A static IP is usually require when you have any server hosting websites and you are providing the FTP services or Web services etc from that server.
When you purchase the static IP from your ISP it allocates that IP against you and do not allocate that IP to anyone else. Network Administrator needs to manually configure the Static IP on their devices.
Advantages of Static IP
- Always have the fix Internet Protocol address — good for FTP server, Web Server, Email Server, and other Internet Servers.
- A static Internet Protocol address makes easier for DNS to locate the server from anywhere in the World.
Difference between Static and Dynamic IP.
Disadvantages of Static IP
- Cost — Static IP ‘s are costly when compare to dynamic IP and Customers needs to pay the Internet Service Provider for this service.
- Security Concern — As IP is fix or static on one device. It gives attacker chances to make the brute force attack, penetration attack and Denial of Service attack on that device by sending unwanted or illegitimate traffic on the device.
Dynamic IP Address
A Dynamic Internet Protocol address is an address which is dynamically assign to your device by ISP and it is not fix like the static IP. Internet Protocol Address keeps changing every time computer reboots or DHCP lease expires.
Internet Service Providers have the DHCP server to allocate the Internet Protocol address to the devices on which ISP connection has been configured.
Dynamic Internet Protocol addresses are use in Home network, Small organizations( which do not require any fix Internet Protocol address to provide services on the Internet). ISP does not take any extra charge from the customers for the dynamic IP.
Advantages of Dynamic IP
- Free to use–No heavy charges to pay the ISP for the IP addresses and are mostly free.
- Security — Constant changing Internet Protocol address gives more security to the websites, devices, etc and hence enhance the security of the organizations.
- Due to automatic IP allocation. Therefore, no need for a manual configuration of IP addresses on the devices.
Disadvantages of Dynamic IP
- No fix or static address. Every time the computer reboots or the DHCP lease expire. The Internet Protocol address of the devices gets changed.
- Require DHCP server for automatic configuration of the Internet Protocol addresses in the devices.
Internet Protocol Address is the important topic of CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate). One should understand it completely.
Next, we will discuss some of the Important Interview Questions and Answers of the IP Address.
IP Address Interview Questions and Answers:
1. What is IP address and Why we use them?
Internet Protocol address is the unique and logical address scheme. We use Internet Protocol address for the logical addressing of the hosts and networks.
2. What are the versions of the IP address?
Internet Protocol address have two versions, namely IP version 4 and IP version 6.
3. How we are still able to use the IP version 4, when they are limited?
We are still able to use the IP version 4 addresses because of following reasons:
a. By using the concept of NAT.
b. By using the Private IP addresses with in the organization for the internal communication.
4. What is the difference between Public and Private IP addresses?
5. IP address are logically define on which layer of the OSI model?
6. What us the main difference between the Static and Dynamic IP address?
7. What is Network Address Translation?
8. What are the different classes of the IP addresses?
9. What is Subnet mask?
10. What is Network ID and Broadcast ID?
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