What is an IP Address?

An IP address, or Internet Protocol address, is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.

It serves two main functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing.

IP addresses are essential for routing data packets across networks, enabling communication between devices on the Internet.

There are two types of IP addresses: Public and Private.

1. Public IP Address:
   - A public IP address is assigned by the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a device that is directly connected to the Internet.
   - It is unique across the entire Internet.
   - Public IP addresses are used for communication between devices on different networks, such as the Internet.

2. Private IP Address:
   - A private IP address is used within a private network, such as a home or business network.
   - Devices within the same local network can communicate with each other using private IP addresses.
   - Private IP addresses are not routable on the Internet, which means they are not directly accessible from outside the local network.
   - Commonly used private IP address ranges include:
     - 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
     - 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
     - 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

Private IP addresses are often used to provide a level of abstraction and security for devices within a local network. Network Address Translation (NAT) is commonly employed to allow multiple devices in a private network to share a single public IP address when accessing the Internet.

How To Find My IP Address?

To find your public IP address, simply navigate to the top of this page. There, you'll find your IP address and Location. To find more details Verify CAPTCHA by clicking on the on the Check Box and click on "Show More Details" Button.

This will show detailed report about your IP Address which includes: Your IP Address, Location, Region, Country, Country Code, City, Latitude, Longitude, Time zone, Currency code, Internet Service Provider(ISP) & Zip-Code(Pincode).

IPv4 vs IPv6

IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) are both protocols used to identify and locate devices on a network. Here are key points differentiating IPv4 and IPv6:

IPv4:
1. Address Length: Uses 32-bit addresses.
2. Address Notation: Expressed in dotted-decimal format (e.g. 192.168.1.1).
3. Address Exhaustion: Limited address space (approximately 4.3 billion addresses)
4. NAT Dependency: Network Address Translation (NAT) is often used to deal with address shortages.
5. Header Size: IPv4 headers are generally larger.
6. Checksum: Includes a header checksum field.
7. Broadcast: Supports broadcast communication.

IPv6:
1. Address Length: Uses 128-bit addresses.
2. Address Notation: Expressed in hexadecimal format with colons (e.g. 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334)
3. Address Space: Enormous address space (about 3.4 x 10^38 addresses).
4. NAT Avoidance: Designed to eliminate the need for widespread NAT.
5. Header Size: IPv6 headers are more streamlined.
6. Checksum: The header does not include a checksum field (reliance on checksums at upper layers).
7. Broadcast: Replaced by multicast and anycast for efficient communication.

In summary, IPv6 was introduced to address the limitations of IPv4, primarily the exhaustion of available addresses. IPv6 provides a larger address space, simplified header structure, and other improvements to support the growing demands of the internet. Despite its advantages, IPv4 is still widely used, and the transition to IPv6 is an ongoing process.