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Chapter 3
Internet Protocols
F I G U R E 3 . 9
RARP broadcast example
IP Addressing
O
ne of the most important topics in any discussion of TCP/IP is IP
addressing. An IP address is a numeric identifier assigned to each machine on
an IP network. It designates the specific location of a device on the network.
An IP address is a software address, not a hardware address--the latter is
hard-coded on a network interface card (NIC) and used for finding hosts on
a local network. IP addressing was designed to allow a host on one network
to communicate with a host on a different network, regardless of the type of
LANs the hosts are participating in.
Before we get into the more complicated aspects of IP addressing, you
need to understand some of the basics. First, I'm going to explain some of the
fundamentals of IP addressing and its terminology. Later on, you'll learn
about the hierarchical IP addressing scheme and then, subnetting.
To understand IP addressing and subnetting, it's important to have already
mastered binary-to-decimal conversion and the powers of 2 (exponents). If
you need to review these topics, see the upcoming sidebars that cover these
subjects.
What's my IP
address?
I heard that broadcast.
Your IP address
is 192.168.10.3
Ethernet: 4523.7985.7734 IP = ????
Ethernet: 4523.7985.7734
IP: 192.168.10.3
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