User`s guide

Glossary

E5810B User’s Guide 127

IP address

Internet Protocol (IP) address is an identifier for a computer

or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP

protocol route messages based on the IP address of the

destination. The format of an IP address is a 32- bit numeric

address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each

number can be from 0 to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 can

be an IP address.

Within an isolated network, you can assign IP addresses at

random as long as each one is unique. However, connecting

a private network to the Internet requires using registered

IP addresses to avoid duplicates. The four numbers in an IP

address are used in different ways to identify a particular

network and a host on that network. The InterNIC

Registration Service assigns Internet addresses from the

following three classes.

Class A

Class A supports 16 million hosts on each of the

127 networks.

Class B

Class B supports 65,000 hosts on each of the

16,000 networks.

Class C

Class C supports 254 hosts on each of the 2 million

networks.