What is an IP Address?
An Internet protocol (IP) address is a unique number, much like your street address, that uses commas and periods to identify a device accessing the Internet. Your personal desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone each have a different IP address each time you log on. Each of your business devices may have its own static address that doesn’t change.
Example
Consider the IP address “192.168.0.1”. In this example:
“192” represents the first octet.
“168” represents the second octet.
“0” represents the third octet.
“1” represents the fourth octet.
Each octet can range from 0 to 255. Therefore, the IP address “192.168.0.1” is an example of an IPv4 address, which is the most commonly used version of IP addresses.
In a network scenario, this IP address could be assigned to a router or a device such as a computer, printer, or smartphone. It allows data packets to be sent and received between devices on the same network or across different networks connected to the internet.