1.2.2.

IP Addressing
 Syllabus content
❖ explain the format of an IP address and how an IP address is associated with
a device on a network
❖ explain the difference between a public IP address and a private IP address
and the implication for security
❖ explain how a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is used to locate a resource
on the World Wide Web (WWW) and the role of the Domain Name Service
1 IP Addressing
A systematic way to identify people,computers and internal resources.
 IP Address
◇ An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label assigned to
each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol
for communication.
◇ An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface
identification and location addressing
◇ IP addresses are usually written and displayed in human-readable notations,
such as 172.16.254.1 and 2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1.
◇ An IP address serves two principal functions:
❖ It identifies the host, or more specifically its network interface.
❖ It provides the location of the host in the network, and thus the path required
to communicate with that host.
 Structure of IP Addressing
❖ IP addresses are binary numbers, but they are usually stored in text files and
displayed in human-readable notations, such as 172.16.254.1 (for IPv4), and
2001:db8:0:1234:0:567:8:1 (for IPv6).
❖ In IPv4 an address consists of 32 bits which limits the address space to
4,294,967,296 (232) possible unique addresses. IPv4 reserves some addresses
for special purposes such as private networks (~18 million addresses).
❖ IPv4 addresses are canonically represented in dot-decimal notation, which
consists of four decimal numbers, each ranging from 0 to 255, separated by dots,
e.g., 172.16.254.1. Each part represents a group of 8 bits (octet) of the address.
In some cases of technical writing, IPv4 addresses may be presented in various
hexadecimal, octal, or binary representations.
 Public IP Address and Private
2 IP Address
 Public IP Address
❖ An IP address is considered public if the IP number is valid and falls outside any
of the IP address ranges reserved for private uses by Internet standards groups.
❖ Public IP addresses are used by Internet servers including those for Web sites
and DNS servers, network routers or any computer connected directly to the
Internet via a modem.
❖ Each public IP is assigned to a range or block of addresses. The Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) controls ownership of these IP ranges and
assigns each block to organizations such as Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
who in turn allocate individual IP addresses to customers.
❖ There cannot exist two computers with the same public IP address all over the
Internet and this addressing scheme makes it possible for the computers to “find
each other” online and exchange information.
 Public IP Address
❖ A public IP address can be either STATIC or DYNAMIC.
❖ A static public IP address does not change and is used primarily for
hosting web pages or services on the Internet.
❖ A dynamic public IP address is chosen from a pool of available addresses
and changes each time one connects to the Internet.
❖ Most Internet users will only have a dynamic IP assigned to their
computer which goes off when the computer is disconnected from the
Internet. Thus when it is re-connected it gets a new IP.
 Private IP Address
❖ Private IP network is an IP network that is not directly connected to the
Internet
❖ Computers on private LAN do not need a public IP addresses, since they do
not need to be accessed by the public.
❖ Devices with private IP addresses cannot connect directly to the Internet
❖ Computers outside the network cannot access devices with a private IP
address.
❖ Access must be obtained through a router.
❖ Generally, private networks use addresses from the following experimental
address ranges (non-routable addresses):
• 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255 (Total Addresses: 16,777,216)
• 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255 (Total Addresses: 1,048,576)
• 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255 (Total Addresses: 65,536)
 Private IP Address
❖ Devices with private IP addresses cannot connect directly to the Internet.
Likewise, computers outside the local network cannot connect directly to a
device with a private IP.
❖ It is possible to interconnect two private networks with the help of a router.
❖ If the private network is connected to the Internet (through an Internet
connection via ISP), then each computer will have a private IP as well as a
public IP. Private IP is used for communication within the network whereas
the public IP is used for communication over the Internet.
❖ The number that you see against “IPV4 Address:” is your private IP which in
most cases will be 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.1.2.

Unlike the public IP, private IP addresses are always static in nature.
 Use of URL to locate a
3 resource on WWW and role
of DNS
 Uniform Resource Locator
(URL)
❖ A Uniform Resource Locator specifies where an identified resource is
available and the mechanism for retrieving it. In popular language, a URL is
also referred to as a Web address.
❖ URL represents a standardized addressing scheme for Internet resources and
helps the users to locate these resources by indicating exactly where they
are.
 Using URL to locate resource on
WWW
Every file on the Web has a URL (uniform resource locator). Whether it’s an HTML
file, a photo file, whatever, it has a URL. A file’s URL is its unique address on the
Web. Just as a cell phone has a unique telephone number, a file has a unique URL.
Suppose that a browser shows this:

It comes from URL http://doomdogs.com/products/ball.html. That’s where the browser

will go if the link is clicked.
 Getting a page
As a user clicks any link, a browser creates a HTTP GET request.
An Example
http://www.sxc.edu.np/departments/computerscience.html
GET /departments/computerscience.html HTTP/1.1 and the request is sent to
the server where sxc.edu.np is hosted.
http – hypertext transfer protocol – protocol to load the hypertext over the internet
sxc.edu.np –
domain name of the server – place where the request is sent
/departments/computerscience.html – data to
return to the browser
A server may have hundred thousands of file and
/departments/computersceince.html is the desired file is to be located and sent.
 Sequence of events
The server (the server where sxc.edu.np is a computer
with several files stored in hard disk in various folders)
may have stored the required file computerscience.html
file in the following path
webresources >> docs >> departments
>>computerscience.html
 Domain Name Service(DNS)
❖ The DNS translates Internet domain and host names to IP addresses.
❖ DNS automatically converts the names we type in Web browser address bar to the
IP addresses of Web servers hosting those sites.
❖ DNS implements a distributed database to store this name and address
information for all public hosts on the Internet. DNS assumes IP addresses do not
change (are statically assigned rather than dynamically assigned).
❖ DNS is the Internet's system for converting alphabetic names into numeric IP
addresses.
❖ When a Web address (URL) is typed into a browser, DNS servers return the IP
address of the Web server associated with that name.
❖ Without DNS, you would have to type the series of four numbers and dots into
your browser to retrieve the Web site, which you actually can do.
 DNS
❖ Global Distribution:
1. Data is maintained locally, but retrievable globally.
❖ Scalability:
1. No limit to the size of the database.
[One server has over 20,000,000 names (Not a good Idea)]
2. No limit to the number of queries.
[24,000 queries per second handled easily]
❖ Reliability:
1. Data is replicated. Data from master is copied to multiple slaves
❖ Dynamicity:
1. Database can be updated dynamically >> Add/delete/modify of any
record
Thanks!
Any questions?