Solaris™ 8 Network Administrator Certification Training Guide

IP ADDRESSES

An IP address is the Network layer address. With the help of unique IP addresses, hosts on a network are distinguished from each other. Each IP address is a 32-bit-long number and is divided into four parts. Each of these parts is 8 bits long and is called an octet. IP addresses are usually written as a combination of these octets, with each octet separated by a dot character. Because each octet is 8 bits long, the value of an octet may range from 0 to 255. For example, a typical IP address may be written as 192.168.2.201.

Unlike MAC addresses, IP addresses are logical addresses and are assigned by network administrators. IP addresses may be changed whenever the need arises. One IP address must be assigned to each network interface ...