IPv4osoitteisiin

IPv4 addresses are a fundamental component of the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), which is one of the core protocols of the Internet. An IPv4 address is a 32-bit numeric identifier assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. It is expressed in a dotted-decimal format, consisting of four decimal numbers separated by dots, each ranging from 0 to 255. For example, 192.168.1.1 is a common IPv4 address format.

IPv4 addresses are divided into two parts: the network portion and the host portion. The division is determined by the subnet mask, which defines the boundary between the network and host portions. The subnet mask is also a 32-bit number, typically expressed in the same dotted-decimal format as the IPv4 address.

IPv4 addresses are categorized into five classes: A, B, C, D, and E. Classes A, B, and C are used for unicast addresses, which are assigned to individual devices. Class D addresses are used for multicast, allowing data to be sent to multiple devices simultaneously. Class E addresses are reserved for experimental purposes.

The exhaustion of IPv4 addresses has become a significant issue due to the rapid growth of the Internet and the increasing number of devices connected to it. To address this, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed IPv6, the next generation of the Internet Protocol, which uses 128-bit addresses, providing a vastly larger address space. However, IPv4 remains in widespread use due to its established infrastructure and the gradual transition to IPv6.