====== IP Address ======

The IP address is a 32 [[bit]] (4 [[byte]]) binary number that uniquely identifies a [[host]] on the [[Internet]]. IP addresses are normally written in //dotted quad// notation where each [[byte]] of the four byte address is written as a base-ten number in the range 0-255. 

As an example, Swansea University's web server has IP address 10001001 0101100 00000001 00000111 which is much more memorable when written as 137.44.1.7.

The //IP addressing// scheme is designed to allow the grouping of geographically close hosts into sub networks which can be arranged in a hierarchy so to facilitate management of the address range and to allow efficient routing. The most-significant bits of a given IP address identify a network that a given host belongs to. The fewer bits used for this [[network address]], the higher the network is in the global hierarchy of [[isp|Internet Service Providers]] (ISPs). The remaining bits give the address of a given host within the network. Another binary number, called a [[bitmask]] is used to separate the host address from the network address and is used to make forwarding decisions when routing datagrams between networks. 
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