!!! Overview
[{$pagename}] ([IPA] or [IP Address]) is the [TCP-IP] Address of a device.


[{$pagename}] is a numerical label assigned to each [device] connected to a computer [network] that uses the [Internet Protocol Suite] for communication. [{$pagename}] serves two main functions: [host] or [network] interface [identification] and location addressing.

[Internet Protocol Version 4] ([IPv4]) defines an [IP Address] as a 32-[bit] number where [Internet Protocol Version 6] ([IPv6]), using 128 [bits] for the IP address.

[{$pagename}]es are written and displayed in human-readable notations, such as 172.16.254.1 in IPv4, and 2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1 in IPv6. The size of the routing prefix of the address is designated in [CIDR] notation by suffixing the address with the number of significant bits, e.g., 192.168.1.15/24, which is equivalent to the historically used subnet mask 255.255.255.0.

The IP address space is managed globally by the [Internet Assigned Numbers Authority] ([IANA]), and by five regional Internet registries (RIRs) responsible in their designated territories for assignment to local Internet registries, such as [Internet Service Providers] ([ISPs]), and other end users. [IPv4] addresses were distributed by IANA to the RIRs in blocks of approximately 16.8 million addresses each, but have been exhausted at the [IANA] level since [2011]. Only one of the RIRs still has a supply for local assignments in Africa.

[{$pagename}]es are reserved for [Private-Use Networks] and are not globally unique.

!! Technical Detail
Among the various technical details, [RFC 791] is also the standard that describes how [IP addresses|IP Address] look. Thier most prevalent form of dotted-decimal address (for [example], 192.168.0.1).

However, IP addresses can also be written in three other formats:

* [Octal] - 0300.0250.0000.0001 (by converting each decimal number to the octal base)
* [Hexadecimal] - 0xc0a80001 (by convert each decimal number to hexadecimal)
* [Integer]/DWORD - 3232235521 (by converting the hexadecimal IP to integer)


!! More Information
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