võrguadressimine

Võrguadressimine, also known as network addressing, is the process of assigning unique addresses to devices on a computer network. These addresses are essential for devices to communicate with each other, allowing data packets to be sent to the correct destination. The most common type of network address is the Internet Protocol (IP) address.

IP addresses are numerical labels assigned to each device connected to a network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. There are two versions of IP addresses currently in use: IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 addresses are typically represented as four sets of numbers separated by dots, such as 192.168.1.1. IPv6 addresses are longer and more complex, designed to accommodate the growing number of internet-connected devices.

The assignment of IP addresses can be done manually, which is called static addressing, or automatically through a protocol like Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). DHCP servers dynamically assign IP addresses to devices when they join the network, simplifying network management.

Beyond IP addresses, other forms of network addressing exist. Media Access Control (MAC) addresses are unique hardware identifiers assigned to network interface controllers (NICs) by their manufacturers. MAC addresses operate at a lower level than IP addresses and are used for communication within a local network segment. Understanding võrguadressimine is fundamental to comprehending how data travels across networks and the internet.