Would some of the web hosting gurus here please explain in brief what the numerals (between the dot separators) in an IP ADDRESS signify...

such as: IP XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

I'm quite new to all this... but really want to learn fast. Looked everywhere, but couldn't find out the answer yet :O(

An IP address routes a request to a specific server, every site will be associated with one whether unique or shared.

There is no importance in what number you get. Is my house better because it is number 54 and your's is 200? No.

More info in ip numbers here
http://www.nsiregistry.com/glossary/gt2.html#ipad




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HostCaters--We Cater Hosting
www.hostcaters.com (http://www.hostcaters.com)

Short of snapping up a book on networking essentials, you might want to take a look at Daryl's TCP/IP Primer at http://ipprimer.windsorcs.com/, particularly section 6 for a brief introduction to IP classes.

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Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostmatters.com

>> There is no importance in what number you get. Is my house better because it is number 54 and your's is 200? No. <<

Oops... why talk sarcastic?

All I asked was the logic behind the numbers in the IP address... just as the number in a zip code of a regular house address has some logic behind it.

I wanted to know what each set of numbers in the IP address logically referred to, that's all :)

Learner,

You can continue your education by looking up what sarcasm is, because it doesn't appear in what Admin said. The point was that there was no significance in what numbers one might have for an IP address.

For instance, 65.65.100.122 is not any better in any way than 240.212.199.066, they are all just numbers.

Though I could be mistaken, I believe the last set of four numbers may go to the same ISP (ncluding hosts), at least part of the time. In other words, say an ISP has an IP address of 240.212.199.xxx, they may have the entire range of the last four numbers, everything from 001 to 255.

For a number of functions, including blocking access and RBL (Realtime Black List), it makes it possible to block an entire range of addresses with only the first three sets of 4 in common.

[This message has been edited by Duster (edited 06-28-2000).]

Duster: Learner, was quoting Admin.

The ip that you get depends on the nettwork architecture of your isp, and how they and their provider(s) decide to break them up.

Don't forget about network masks, etc. I'll detail it when I get back..... in a rush to get out the door, sorry.....

The IP addresses are just numbers. There really is no importance to any one set of them. (By the way, each of the three digit numbers between the dots, are called Octets.)

Sometimes you will hear people talk about how someone's IP is in the same block as some company. This means that company has requested, and has had assigned, a block of IP addresses. They have reserved them, if you will, for their own use, meaning no one else can use them. In otherwords, that person is in some way related to that company.

There are different Classes of IP Addresses, A, B, and C. These Classes are determined by the Mask that is used with the IP address. I believe most IP addresses used on the Internet are either Class B or Class C. The Class designation doesn't mean one works better than the other, just how the network equipment interprets the address.

It's nothing but a number, and has no geographical relationship.

Hope this is helpful info.


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tk
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Whoops! There goes another $.02!

[This message has been edited by tk (edited 06-28-2000).]

Ok, here is what I remember from my Bay Networks class.

An IP consists of 4 octets, each with a range of 0 to 255 (though 0 and 255 are not typically used). The first octet determines what class of IP is being used. I don't remember all the ranges, but I do remember that 0 - 128 is a class A. There are 4 different classes, A,B,C,D. In addition to IP's you also can have a subnet mask. A subnet mask allows one IP to be used by multiple machines (more or less). A subnet mask typically is something like 255.255.0.0 though other numbers may be used.

Say you have 10 computers on a network and only have one IP assigned to you. Using subnet masking, you can use that one address to access all 10 machines.

IP's are used to identify a particular device on a given network, this can be a printer, PC, scanner, server or other device. Typically IP's are bound (linked) to MAC address's using your computers OS. A MAC address is a hard coded address inside of the NIC (network interface card). Each NIC (in theory) has it's own unique MAC address (assigned at the factory).

On a different subject if you have ever heard of DHCP and wondered what it was it stands for Dynamic Host Control Protocol. This is a way where you can have a pool of IP numbers, say 128.1.4.100 to 128.1.4.200, and instead of assigning a seperate IP address for each machine, the machine asks the DHCP server for a temp IP. The server then assigns the next available IP to the machine asking for it. When that machine is done using it (say turned off) then that IP is put back into the pool of numbers for someone else to use. This is typically how dial-up connections work. You dial in and the port you dial in on requests an IP from the DHCP server and you use it till you hang up, then that number is released back into the pool.

Well, hope this helped. TCP/IP is a very complex protocol to understand. There are several different books and classes on the subject. If I'm not mistaken there is an entire test dedicated to TCP/IP for the MSCE.


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Mike Astin
WebAuthorities
http://www.webauthorities.com

More information (and some minor corrections):

DHCP=Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, but otherwise it works just like Mike said. You get a "lease" on an IP address, to be used for your current session, and that lease is generally for a short time for things like dial-up connections. If you have an always-on connection, such as DSL or a cable modem, the lease is typically longer - and if your system and connection is continually up and you're watching at the right time, you might actually see the system attempting to renew the lease on the IP address it has (or, of course, the error saying that the system cannot renew the lease). On LANs that use DHCP, static devices such as printers and servers usually have an assigned IP, while user workstations use DHCP.

Subnet masks are not always necessary, but generally, they tell your system where to look for other computers on the network. For instance, if your subnet mask is 255.255.0.0, the first two octets of your IP tell you what network you're on, and the last two tell you what host you are - so if your IP address was 208.167.138.10, assuming the subnet was set up properly on both the client and network level (router), in theory you should be able to talk to any machine on the 208.167 network without the use of a gateway. You can further split subnets, but since most people fall into Class C ranges (using subnet mask 255.255.255.0) it isn't practical (or possible, given some ranges).

The lower and upper ends of a range (xxx.xxx.xxx.0 and .255) are usually reserved for indicating the whole subnet (.0), or for broadcast traffic (.255). Another for instance: IIS under NT allows to to grant or deny access based on IP ranges. To allow or deny them, you enter them as xxx.xxx.xxx.0, which covers the entire subnet.

If you're really interested in learning this stuff (and why not? :) ), you might want to pick up virtually any of the exam prep books for Networking Essentials or TCP/IP. The first will give you some basic information on the various protocols, including TCP/IP, and should also give some decent information on the OSI model. The second should help if you really want to get down into the guts of things.

Or help you get to sleep if you're an insomniac.

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Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostmatters.com

Sorry if I sound sarcastic, I had no intention of being rude. Please accept my apology.

There is no significance in the IP you get.

Although will find some examples like 208.xxx.xxx.xxx are mostly based in america and whatever.xxx.xxx.xxx are uk based etc... but in theory I believe any IP number can be for any server anywhere in the world. Some businesses/organizations reserve blocks of IPs for certain use.

Originally posted by Admin:
Sorry if I sound sarcastic, I had no intention of being rude. Please accept my apology.

Admin... and i'm sorry for thinking that you may have been !!!

WOW !!! i was a first time user of this forum when i posted this question. and i got a much bigger answer than i expected.

You guys are simply great !!!!

Thanks a lot. I think i will look up the suggested links and read up on this to know more.

On a closing note, i have a strong gut feel (it's just a gut feeling!!) that these numbers could have some logical significance... because numbers generally do !!!

Maybe there is not all that much geographical significance perhaps... that is why i had given my original question the title "ip address de-MYSTIFIED"!! :)

Only i wasn't expecting it to be this big a mystery !! but you web gurus threw quite a lot of light on the subject.

Thanks a lot once again !!

what happens when all the possible combinations of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx or how ever it works are taken up ? Will the internet be full ?

Sorry Iam fairly stupid at this, But I would like to know more. Mainly because the next time the cable tech comes in here to fix something..I will be able to understand his jargon... by the way .. what does a gateway do ?

Currently, there are Big Plans for IP6. Trust me, don't worry about the numbers drying up. The whole discussion revolving around it is crashingly dull for people who don't particularly want to be network geeks/cowboys.

A gateway is a piece of network equipment that allows a pc on one subnet to talk to a pc on another subnet. It can determine, from the address of the recipient, if a packet of information should be shuttled across to the other net or sent along on the current one, and generally also provides translation services between protocols.

As a for instance, say you have an email account with your ISP, and the mail server happens to be on the same subnet as your pc (that is, you've been assigned an IP address on the same net as the IP address of the mail server). When you make a request to that server, the request does not have to go outside the subnet that you are on - so, there's no need for a gateway, as every request that you make to the email server will be on the immediate net. However, when you start requesting web pages from outside your own subnet, your ISP has a gateway that handles those requests, appropriately routing the request (and the packets that you receive in response to your request) to the proper destination. That's the very simple version of what happens, without the addition of routers, bridges, etc. As suggested previously, any good study guide for Networking Essentials or TCP/IP will break it down more fully, providing information on the hardware used to do various things, as well as breaking down the protocols (TCP/IP, which is technically a suite, or IPX, etc.) into their various layers and functions.

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Annette
Hosting Matters, Inc.
http://www.hostmatters.com

If you are really interested in TCP/IP, check your community college or local university. They often offer classes on this sort of thing. Where I live, the community college actually offers a course on Cisco Router certification.


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Mike Astin
WebAuthorities
http://www.webauthorities.com

[This message has been edited by MikeA (edited 07-03-2000).]

Get out! That's pretty cool! I just recently discovered what the local Community College had to offer. Some good stuff!

Here in Cali, college is pretty cheap (feel sorry for the rest of you), with classes costing $14/unit (a normal 3 unit class costs $45). Can't beat that with a dead monkey.

Chicken,

I'm envious.

Most college courses on computers cost at *least* $300 over here, and if I really wanted to learn TCP/IP I have to go to Microsoft or one of the other training providers (which costs over a grand) :(

Nukem, they estimate that it will "run out" of IP's from 2 - 20 years. They never seem to agree of the number. Anyway, as Anette mention this is why IPv6 is on it's way a replacement for the current system.

Some more discussions about IP's can be found at http://www.scriptkeeper.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/001041.html # just ignore the "fights"... hehe