IP address

IP address
—n
	computing internet protocol address: the numeric code that identifies all computers that are connected to the internet

IP address   The numerical sequence that serves as an identifier for an Internet server. An IP address appears as a series of four groups of numbers separated by dots. The first group is a number between 1 and 255 and the other groups are a number between 0 and 255, such as 192.135.174.1. Every server has its own unique address.

IP address definition

networking
(Internet address) The 32-bit number uniquely identifying a node on a network using Internet Protocol, as defined in STD 5, RFC 791. An IP address is normally displayed in dotted decimal notation, e.g. 128.121.4.5.
The address can be split into a network number (or network address) and a host number unique to each host on the network and sometimes also a subnet address.
The way the address is split depends on its "class", A, B or C (but see also CIDR). The class is determined by the high address bits:
Class A - high bit 0, 7-bit network number, 24-bit host number. n1.a.a.a 0 <= n1 <= 127
Class B - high 2 bits 10, 14-bit network number, 16-bit host number. n1.n2.a.a 128 <= n1 <= 191
Class C - high 3 bits 110, 21-bit network number, 8-bit host number. n1.n2.n3.a 192 <= n1 <= 223
DNS translates a node's fully qualified domain name to an Internet address which ARP (or constant mapping) translates to an Ethernet address.
[Jargon File]
(2006-01-27)