What exactly is an IP address and why is it significant?

The acronym ‘IP’ represents Internet Protocol, a collection of regulations enabling devices to communicate via the Internet. Given the immense number of individuals using the Internet daily, distinct identifiers are essential to monitor user activities. The Internet Protocol addresses this by allocating IP numbers to all Internet-connected devices.

An IP address for a computer can be likened to a physical address for a residence. When someone contacts a pizzeria to order a delivery, furnishing their physical address is imperative. Without this address, the pizza delivery person wouldn’t know where to deliver the order.

For instance, when a user enters a domain name like ‘google.com’ into a web browser, this prompts a solicitation to Google’s web server, requesting content (such as the Google homepage). Once Google obtains the request, it requires the recipient’s IP address to determine where to send the webpage content. Consequently, the request carries the inquirer’s IP address. With the provided IP address, Google can transmit a response to the user’s device, which then renders the content within the user’s web browser.

The system responsible for managing this process is known as DNS (Domain Name System). It operates akin to a phone book for IP addresses, facilitating user access to web services via user-friendly domain names. When a user types a domain name like ‘facebook.com’ into their browser, this initiates a DNS inquiry that ultimately leads to a DNS server converting the domain name into an IP address.

How are IP addresses configured? These addresses take distinct formats depending on whether they’re IPv4 or IPv6.

What sets IPv4 apart from IPv6?

IPv4 and IPv6 are distinct iterations of the Internet Protocol. The introduction of IPv4 occurred in 1983 and remains operational to this day. IPv4 addresses adopt a four-part numerical structure separated by periods, like ‘192.0.2.1’. Employing a 32-bit configuration, IPv4 enables approximately 4.3 billion individual IP addresses. However, this quantity has proved insufficient to accommodate the current multitude of Internet-connected devices. In response to this need for expanded address capacity, IPv6 was developed. IPv6 addresses exhibit a more intricate structure employing numbers and letters, divided by single or double colons, for example: ‘2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334’. Operating on a 128-bit format, IPv6 can sustain a staggering 2^128 unique addresses, equivalent to a 39-digit numeral.

Beyond just addressing, IPv6 brings various enhancements compared to IPv4, encompassing advancements in security and privacy. Despite these disparities, both IPv4 and IPv6 have coexisted on the internet for well over a decade. While these two versions can operate concurrently, special protocols had to be established to enable communication between devices utilizing either IPv4 or IPv6. This accommodation was necessary due to the substantial prevalence of IPv4 addresses still being utilized across the web.

Curiously, what transpired with IPv5? IPv5 emerged as an experimental streaming data protocol that never saw full implementation. Adhering to the same 32-bit structure as IPv4, IPv5 couldn’t satisfactorily address the issue of insufficient distinct IP addresses. As a consequence, IPv6 emerged as the logical successor to IPv4.