12 Facts About IP addresses

IP addresses are written and displayed in human-readable notations, such as in IPv4, and in IPv6.

IPv4 IP addresses were distributed by IANA to the RIRs in blocks of approximately 16.

Some IPv4 IP addresses are reserved for private networks and are not globally unique.

Large number of IPv6 IP addresses allows large blocks to be assigned for specific purposes and, where appropriate, to be aggregated for efficient routing.

The IP addresses include a 40-bit pseudorandom number that minimizes the risk of address collisions if sites merge or packets are misrouted.

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Addresses starting with, called link-local IP addresses, are assigned to interfaces for communication on the attached link.

The IP addresses are automatically generated by the operating system for each network interface.

IP addresses are assigned to a host either dynamically as they join the network, or persistently by configuration of the host hardware or software.

Dynamic IP addresses are assigned by network using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol.

In IPv6, every interface, whether using static or dynamic IP addresses, receives a link-local address automatically in the block.

IP addresses are classified into several classes of operational characteristics: unicast, multicast, anycast and broadcast addressing.

The source and destination IP addresses contained in the headers of each IP packet are a convenient means to discriminate traffic by IP address blocking or by selectively tailoring responses to external requests to internal servers.