Essential Guide to Home Networking Technologies, The

ASSIGNING IP ADDRESSES

In a TCP/IP-based home network, domestic appliances and PCs use IP addresses to identify each other. Within the next five years, each light switch, TV, appliance, and so on will have its own IP address for access and control from anywhere in the world. An IP address is a series of four numbers separated by dots that identify the exact physical location of a digital appliance, similar to a home address that identifies a place of residence. An IP address is a 32-bit binary number. This binary number is divided into 4 groups of 8 bits ("octets"), each of which is represented by a decimal number in the range 0 to 255. The octets are separated by decimal points. An example of an IP address is 190.100.5.54. The options for assigning ...