Internetprotokollassa

Internetprotokolla, often abbreviated as IP, is a fundamental protocol of the Internet protocol suite used for addressing and routing data packets across networks. It defines the format of data packets and the addressing scheme that uniquely identifies devices connected to a network. IP operates at the network layer of the TCP/IP model, responsible for logical addressing and packet forwarding.

There are two main versions of Internetprotokolla in widespread use: IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4, the older version, uses 32-bit addresses, allowing for approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses. Due to the rapid growth of internet-connected devices, IPv4 addresses have become largely depleted. IPv6, the successor to IPv4, uses 128-bit addresses, providing a vastly larger address space and addressing the limitations of IPv4.

When data is sent over the internet, it is broken down into smaller units called packets. Each packet contains not only the data itself but also header information that includes the source and destination IP addresses. Routers on the network use this information to guide the packets from their origin to their destination, hopping from one router to another until they reach their intended recipient. IP itself does not guarantee delivery; that responsibility is handled by higher-level protocols like TCP (Transmission Control Protocol).