File:IPv4_Packet-en.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
IPv4
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Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the first version of the Internet Protocol (IP) as a standalone specification. It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet and other packet-switched networks. IPv4 was the first version deployed for production on SATNET in 1982 and on the ARPANET in January 1983. It is still used to route most Internet traffic today, even with the ongoing deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), its successor. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address space which provides 4,294,967,296 (232) unique addresses, but large blocks are re
IPv4 is the foundational protocol that directs data packets across the internet and other networks, having been in use since the early 1980s and remaining the primary method for routing internet traffic today. It identifies devices on a network using a 32-bit address system, which provides a finite number of unique addresses that devices can use to communicate with each other.
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Key facts
- Networking protocol.title
- Internet Protocol version 4
- Networking protocol.image
- 250px|class=skin-invert-image
- Networking protocol.caption
- IPv4 packet
- Networking protocol.is stack
- yes
- Networking protocol.abbreviation
- IPv4
- Networking protocol.purpose
- Internetworking protocol
- Networking protocol.developer
- DARPA
- Networking protocol.osilayer
- Network layer
- Networking protocol.influenced
- IPv6
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- IPv4 Packet-ar.svg
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- IPv4
- edition number
- 4
- publication date
- 1981-00-00
via Wikidata · CC0
~24 min read
Article
23 sectionsContents
- Purpose
- History
- Address space exhaustion
- {{anchor|IPv4_Addressing}}Addressing
- Address representations
- {{anchor|Allocation}}Allocation
- Special-use addresses
- Private networks
- Link-local addressing
- Loopback
- First and last subnet addresses
- Address resolution
- Unnumbered interface
- Packet structure
- Header
- Fragmentation and reassembly
- Fragmentation
- Reassembly
- Assistive protocols
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the first version of the Internet Protocol (IP) as a standalone specification. It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet and other packet-switched networks. IPv4 was the first version deployed for production on SATNET in 1982 and on the ARPANET in January 1983. It is still used to route most Internet traffic today, even with the ongoing deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), its successor. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address space which provides 4,294,967,296 (232) unique addresses, but large blocks are reserved for special networking purposes. This quantity of unique addresses is not large enough to meet the needs of the global Internet, which has caused a significant issue known as IPv4 address exhaustion during the ongoing transition to IPv6.
==Purpose== The Internet Protocol ("IP") is the protocol that defines and enables internetworking at the internet layer of the Internet Protocol Suite. It gives the Internet a global-scale logical addressing system which allows the routing of IP data packets from a source host to the next router that is one hop closer to the intended destination host on another network.