The Facts

• IP addresses are basically the names of the different devices that access the Internet that are used to transmit information back and forth in the form of packets. Along with many other aspects of computers and the Internet, IP addresses function quietly behind the scenes, but these number-based addresses are essential to communication and transferring information.
  
  

History of

• The first IP addresses were 32-bit values, with bits being a unit of measurement for the amount of integers in a set of data. Because the usage of the Internet exploded and many new devices have come to access the millions of new websites that have been created since the inception of the Internet, IP addresses are now going to be created using 128-bit values, a much larger amount of integers that can be used.
  
  

Features

• A typical IP address has ten numbers, arranged like 123.45.67.890. The actual numbers within each individual IP address vary. This method of writing out an IP address is for convenience in writing and remembering them. Computers use a binary method of communication that uses only zeroes and ones to transmit long strings of information. Each computer and Internet-accessing device has its own IP address.
  
  

Function

• An IP address allows each computer and device accessing the Internet to have its own identity. IP addresses are also used in routing data between networks, allowing the computers to identify each other. For this reason, some of the numbers in certain IP addresses are used to create sub-networks that facilitate the communication between the participants in the network.
  
  

Type

• The two most common types of IP addresses are static and dynamic. Static IP addresses are used when a device is meant to always have the same IP address. Dynamic IP addresses are used when the exact IP address doesn't matter. Dynamic IP addresses are common when resources are limited or are on a first come, first serve basis.