107 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
107 lines
6.6 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "You Won’t Believe What I Discovered About IP Addresses!"
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source: "https://levelup.gitconnected.com/you-wont-believe-what-i-discovered-about-ip-addresses-570fe767499e"
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author:
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- "[[Rahul Sharma]]"
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published: 2024-10-03
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created: 2024-10-29
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description: "Learn the fundamentals of IPv4 and discover how IP addresses work. Explore how binary conversions simplify addressing in a format you can easily understand."
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tags:
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- "clippings"
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---
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## You Won’t Believe What I Discovered About IP Addresses!
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## I am sure you will learn something new today!
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[
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](https://devopstory.com/?source=post_page---byline--570fe767499e--------------------------------)
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[
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](https://levelup.gitconnected.com/?source=post_page---byline--570fe767499e--------------------------------)
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Feature Image Created in Canva
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When you first look at an ***IP address (IPV4)***, such as **192.168.0.1**, it’s easy to assume the dots are part of the IP address. We know that the definition of an ***IP address*** is:
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> An IP address is a string of numbers separated by periods. IP addresses are expressed as a set of four numbers — an example address might be 192.158.1.38. Each number in the set can range from 0 to 255. So, the full IP addressing range goes from 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.
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> **Source**: [www.kaspersky.com](http://www.kaspersky.com/)
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As an example, when you see
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**8.8.8.8**, you will comfortably say yes, it’s an IP that belongs to ***Google*** DNS.
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==But you see this== ==**134744072**== ==You will probably say it’s a string of numbers and may not be an== ==***IP address.***==
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## Understanding the Concept
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Now, before we move forward and decide on whether this number is a large integer or an **IP address**, we need to understand that an **IPv4 address** is just a **32-bit** number,
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e.g. ***00001010000010110000110000001101***
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To make the **IP address** space easy for people to use, both a standard number system and the smallest numbers possible had to be used. In terms of the first of these criteria, people think in terms of the **Base10** number system, but computers are ***binary*** by nature (excluding quantum computing 😅 ).
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It is impossible for most of us to reliably remember the **32-bit address** strings of binary numbers that computers and computer networks use to talk to each other.
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It should be easier for people to understand any ***32-bit*** string of binary numbers if they were turned into decimal numbers. After all, people are so used to the ***Base10*** number system that it’s like second nature.
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Unfortunately, a ***32-bit*** binary number could turn into a decimal number that is so big that people can’t really understand it. Think about trying to remember the address of Google **DNS**: **13,47,44,072.**
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To fix this, the architects of the internet did something brilliant. They **chunked** that massive **32-bit** number into four smaller parts, or **octets**, each containing **8 bits**.
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Here’s what that would look like:
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**1000 1000 1000 1000**
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Each octet is still a binary number, but we don’t see it that way in everyday life. Instead, each **8-bit** chunk is converted into its decimal form (between **0** and **255**) and separated by dots: **8.8.8.8**
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Now, suddenly, that massive **32-bit** address is much easier to handle. Instead of one overwhelming string of numbers, we have four smaller, bite-sized chunks.
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The dots serve as **visual markers** that divide these **octets**. They also help distinguish between class-full networks and network boundaries in subnetting. Without them, we would be staring at a string of numbers that would take forever to decode. They make **IP addresses** easier for humans to read, write, and remember.
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Think of it like trying to remember someone’s phone number. You don’t memorise it as **134744072**. Instead, you chunk it into sections:
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**13-47-44-072**
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**The dots do exactly that for IP addresses.**
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## The Million-dollar Question
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Now, **million-dollar questions**: is this number **134744072** an IP? The answer is yes; as I mentioned above, it’s a **32-bit** number that can represent an **IP address**, and that’s it. If you give this number to your browser (obviously with a proper context like HTTP), it can read it as an **IP address**. All devices and routers will also be able to understand it because they all work with **32-bit** binary numbers.
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**How did I come to this number?**
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To convert an IP address like **8.8.8.8** into a single integer, we treat each **octet** as a separate value and multiply it by powers of **256** based on its position in the sequence (starting from the left). Here's how it works:
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Image used to show the calculation
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So, the calculation looks like this:
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Image used to show the calculation
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The result of this expression is **13474407**
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This process converts the familiar dotted-decimal format into a single, large integer.
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You can try the same in your browser as well!
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Image showing the integer as an IP address
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## **Closing Thought**
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Understanding this concept can help you in various cases. For example, one of the use cases can be **Database Storage:** Putting IP addresses in databases as integers (like **134744072**) instead of strings (like “**8.8.8.8**”) can help them take up less space. When it comes to storage and retrieval times, integer operations are often faster than string operations.
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Another one could be **Sorting IP Addresses**: To easily sort a list of **IP addresses** by number, you can convert them to integers first. This is very helpful in situations like checking firewall rules or access control lists (**ACLs**).
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On the other side, this information is what I perceived from various sources, and one of the book references is *IP Addressing Fundamentals* by *Mark A. Sportack*, from where I understood that this is also another way of approaching the ***IPV4***. I added my opinions in this, which you may or may not agree with. If you are a network expert, you may have your perfectly acceptable views. |