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IP Address
IP address stands for Internet Protocol address and designates a unique number that is assigned to all computers connected to the Internet.
IP addresses are grouped into four numbers separated by dots: 0 to 256 - period - 0 to 256 - period - 0 to 256 - period - 0 to 256. For example, 194.5.245.192 is an IP address. The number only goes up to 256 because the computer saves the value as FF (in hexadecimal).
Every Internet server, therefore, has an IP address. Because these numbers would be very difficult for people visiting Web sites to remember, domains were introduced. Domains are administered by InterNIC.
Each IP address can be converted to a unique number by calculating the sum of each group multiplied by 256 to the power of 4 minus the group's position.
It sounds complicated, but it isn't: For example, take an IP address like 192.5.245.28. To calculate its unique number, multiply the first number by 256 to the power of 3 (4 minus 1: 1st position), the second by 256 to the power of 2 (4 minus 2: 2nd position), the third by 256 to the power of 1 (4 minus 3: 3rd position) and the fourth by 256 to the power of 0 (4 minus 4: 4th position) (= 1). The sum of these gives the unique number. In this case: 256*256*256*192 + 256*256*5 + 256*245 + 28 = 3221615900.
This example is mentioned here because of a security flaw in a version of Internet Explorer that caused too many hits to be received on the user's own computer when Internet addresses were accessed this way.
Every computer that is connected to the Internet has an IP address because it is part of the network and without it, the other computers would not know which computer to deliver the data (e.g., a Web site) to.
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