Topic: discuss IP address, subnet masks, and default gateway in a network

A computer network is a group of computers and various networking devices that connect to
share information and resources.

The various networking components may include routers switches hubs and servers

For these components to work in harmony, they need an identity that will help them work
together and easily identify each other on the internet when sending information, to avoid
sending it to the wrong computer they need an address assigned to each of them.

This address is called internet protocol or an IP address

IP ADDRESS
An IP address can be defined as a unique set of numbers that can be used to identify
computers or nodes on the internet

An IP address can be written in dotted-decimal form for example 192.168.43.153

Every IP address has two parts. The first part indicates which network the address belongs to,
in the example above 192.168.43. is the first part. The second part specifies the device within
that network also known as the physical address.

It should be noted that IP address networks are grouped in classes ranging from class A and
class B, class C and class D

CLASSES OF IP ADDRESS

In class A networks, everything before the first period indicates the network address, and the
rest represent the physical address, in the example above 192 is the network address and the
connected device is 168.43.153.

In class B networks, everything before the second period is the network address and the rest
represents the device or physical address, in the example above 192.168 is the network
address and 43.153 is the address of the device.

In class C networks everything before the first third period is the network address and
everything after is the device address, in the example above 192.168.43, is the network
address and 153 is the physical address.

TYPES OF IP ADDRESS

There are two types of IP addresses IPv4 and IPv6

 IPv4

IPv4 stands for internet protocol version 4 they are 32-bit in length and are divided into four
equal sections, separated by dots, IPv4 addresses are written and used in the dotted-decimal
notation for example 192.168.43.153

IPv4 addresses can be described in different parts

The network part indicates the distinctive variety that’s appointed to the network. The
network part conjointly identifies the category of the network that’s assigned.

 Host Part:

The host part uniquely identifies the device on your network. This part of the IPv4 address is
assigned to every host.

For each host on the network, the network part is the same, however, the host part must
vary.

 Subnet number:

This is the optional part of IPv4. Local networks that have massive numbers of hosts are
divided into subnets and subnet numbers are appointed to them.

ipv4 uses a subnet mask to separate network addresses from host addresses,

subnet masks help in determining how many bits are to be in the network address and also
how many are in the host address.

 Ipv6

IPv6 stands for internet protocol 6.

It was designed as an upgrade to IPv4 to accommodate the recent surge in internet demand,
this has brought improved performance

IPv6 is 128 bits in length. These bits are divided into eight equal sections. Sections are
separated by colons (:) and written in a sequence. For example
2001:db8:3333:4444:5555:6666:7777:8888.

Instead of using subnet masks IPv6 uses defines the number of bits in each address, It
defines the first 64 bits as the network address and the last 64 bits as the host address.

IPv6 can be categorized into the following parts;

-Unicast addresses It identifies a unique node on a network and usually refers to a single
sender or a single receiver.

-Multicast addresses It represents a group of IP devices and can only be used as the
destination of a datagram.

-Anycast addresses It is assigned to a set of interfaces that typically belong to different

Advantages of ipv6

Reliability

Faster Speeds: because IPv6 doesn’t require a lot of hopping from one point to another the
data is transferred at a much faster rate than IPv4, IPv6 supports multicast rather than
broadcast in IPv4.This feature allows for heavy bandwidth consuming work like media to
transmit at a much faster rate.

-Stronger Security: IP Security, which provides confidentiality, and data integrity, is

-Routing efficiency, data is sent through a few nodes to get to its target

-Most importantly it’s the final solution for the growing demands of intensive internet use in
the world

IPv6 also has a few disadvantages

-IPv6 is still not widely spread to most parts of the world due to the domination of IPv4

-IPv6 is also not compatible with IPv4 you will need a medium to allow the two to
communicate which makes communication hard.

CLASSIFICATION OF IP ADDRESS

The IP address can be classified into the following;

1. Public IP address

These are addresses that are available publically, and it’s assigned by the network provider to
the router your using for connecting

Public IP addresses are dived into two types dynamic IP address and static IP address

 Dynamic IP addresses are the type that change every time a device reconnects to the
internet

The address is picked from a given range of addresses, the addresses are changed regularly

The service provider has a large pool of addresses that it gives to routers that connect to it
and assigns an IP address automatically this is majorly done to reduce costs by the service
provider, it also has security advantages since the IP keeps changing every time this will
make it hard for the device to be easily tracked

however dynamic IP addresses limit remote access, you won’t be able to gain access to your
device remotely since the IP address automatically keeps changing

dynamic addresses also offer less location accuracy as the IP address changes the real-time
location also changes

 Static IP address
Static IP address never changes when its connected they are referred to as permanent IP
addresses

This is mostly used by businesses or individuals who want to host their own servers, the
server is given a permanent address so that devices that want to connect to it can easily
locate and connect to it

A static IP address is helpful as it gives a greater advantage in download and upload speeds,
since there are fewer disparities related to a static IP, the speed of admittance to content is
typically quicker when you have one allotted to your gadget

You can easily access your information from anywhere regardless of location as long you
have an internet connection

Static IP addresses also have disadvantages

It restricts the number of IP addresses you can access when an IP address is given to oe
device it won’t be available for other devices to access it unless the device is disconnected

A single IP address makes it easy for hackers to easily follow one device when they’re trying
to access information from it

2. private IP address

Private IP addresses are the unique address that is specifically assigned to devices by the
router to easily identify the type of device connected, they are internal addresses that don’t
connect to the internet for example laptops, printers, and Bluetooth all have different types
of private IP addresses that help identify them in the internet.

3. Shared IP address

A shared IP address is when two or more websites decide to share one IP address cause of
the small traffic going through that IP address

A shared IP address helps in cutting down costs websites would have incurred being hosted
lone

A shared IP address is also important as it creates room for more open addresses for others
to connect to

Shared IP addresses also have the following disadvantages

Information can easily be shared by both connected websites and in case of an attack all
those sharing the IP address can easily be affected by the attack

Shared IP addresses can also lead to congestion slowing down the access to those sharing
the service.

4. dedicated IP address

A dedicated IP address is when a single IP is assigned to a single company or individual

A dedicated IP address can deal with heavy network streams or volumes

Dedicated IP servers however have some certain disadvantages one of those being it’s
expensive to acquire and maintain one

A dedicated server is also hard to find as they cannot easily be found in many hosts

However much IP addresses help in smooth connection to the internet it also acts as a
backdoor or gateway for information to be taken out or input into the device

This brings a lot of disadvantages for the user, below are a few things listed that may harm
the user

Tracking of location

People can use your IP address to track your location this is a direct violation of privacy and
your location can easily be sold to third parties

Hacking

The internet uses IP addresses to connect individuals to the internet, hackers also use IP
addresses to try and hijack devices to steal crucial information like credit card information.

SUBNET MASK