Working with IP Addresses and Subnets

An IP address is a logical address of a network adapter. Home computers and many other devices acquire IP addresses to join Internet Protocol networks.

Learn the basics of finding, changing, and hiding my IP addresses.

Learn how to recognize several different types of IP addresses, including private, reserved and invalid ones.

An IP address conflict occurs when two computers on a local network (or the Internet) have been assigned the same IP address. IP conflicts between two computers normally render either one or both of them unusable for network operations.

A subnet is a logical grouping of connected network devices. When a subnet is properly implemented, both the performance and security of networks can be improved.

Network numbers look like IP addresses but function differently. Find out how IP networks get numbered and what purpose these numbers serve.

Subnets allow IP networks to be subdivided for security and performance purposes. This tutorial explains how subnetting works and provides examples of subnets in practice.

Using a private IP address on a residential or business computer can improve network security and conserve public addressing space. Learn how private IP addressing works and which IP address ranges qualify as private.

CIDR - also called supernetting - is one system used by Internet routers to manage IP subnetworks. CIDR was developed in response to a shortage of IPv4 addresses.

0.0.0.0 is an Internet Protocol (IP) address. On Windows PCs, having an IP address of 0.0.0.0 indicates failure to join a TCP/IP network. 0.0.0.0 is also used by TCP/IP network software applications to monitor traffic from any valid IP address.

127.0.0.1 is an reserved IPv4 address. 127.0.0.1 is a special purpose address conventionally used as a computer's loopback address.

An octet in computer technology is an 8-bit quantity. Octets in networking are most commonly associated with a single byte of an IPv4 network address.

Use this simple database to identify the IP addresses of popular Internet search engines and search spiders. Webmasters use these addresses when analyzing their server logs.

Ping is a standard utility program available on most computers. A ping program sends test messages from the computer to a remote device over a TCP/IP network. Besides determining whether the remote computer is currently online, ping also provides indicators of the general speed or reliability of network connections. This article provides step-by-step instructions for how to use a ping program.

Internet standards define certain IP addresses as public. A public IP address cannot be used or accessed inside a local newtork, but it can be used on the Internet.