IP address

Picture an IP address as your computer's home address in the bustling city of the internet, except this neighborhood is shared with billions of others. Instead of sending you postcards or pizza, this address tells data packets where to find you so you can seamlessly stream cat videos. It's basically the GPS for your digital sofa—no, it's not an invitation for spam!

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. It serves two primary functions: identifying the host or network interface and providing the location of the host in the network. IP addresses are crucial for routing information across the internet, allowing devices to send and receive data from other devices globally. The two most common versions are IPv4, which consists of four sets of numbers separated by periods, and the newer IPv6, designed to address the limited number of available IPv4 addresses, which consists of eight groups of hexadecimal numbers. Understanding IP addresses is essential for network configuration, management, and cybersecurity measures, as it relates to identifying and securing network interfaces.