IP Addressing Query

terminal

Hi Techs,

When you connect to the internet your isp assigns you an IP address unique to ureself. What is this called, how does it work and more importantly: why do we need this? What are the alternatives?

Big Thanks in Advance

sprkymrk

Forgive the obvious answer, but it's called an, ummm, IP Address.
More specifically it's a non-RFC 1918 address:
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1918.html

Also known as a routable IP Address.

An easy way to think of it is like your house address. If you didn't have a street address how would someone else send you a letter? When you send someone else a letter, you put your return address on the envelope so they can write back to you.

Of course, if you put a false return address on the envelope, that would be like spoofing.

And if you live in an apartment, your apartment number is like an RFC 1918 Private Address, it's non-routable, but has to be translated (NAT) by the address of your apartment building. There might be hundreds of apartment buildings in the city that all use apartment numbers 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, etc., but you are going to wrap that in the address of your apartment building.

HTH

terminal

sprkymrk wrote:

Forgive the obvious answer, but it's called an, ummm, IP Address.
More specifically it's a non-RFC 1918 address:
http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1918.html

Also known as a routable IP Address.

An easy way to think of it is like your house address. If you didn't have a street address how would someone else send you a letter? When you send someone else a letter, you put your return address on the envelope so they can write back to you.

Of course, if you put a false return address on the envelope, that would be like spoofing.

And if you live in an apartment, your apartment number is like an RFC 1918 Private Address, it's non-routable, but has to be translated (NAT) by the address of your apartment building. There might be hundreds of apartment buildings in the city that all use apartment numbers 1A, 1B, 1C, 2A, 2B, 2C, etc., but you are going to wrap that in the address of your apartment building.

HTH

Cheers mate......well explained and understood.