Solaris™ 8 Network Administrator Certification Training Guide

STRUCTURE OF AN IP HEADER

Now it’s time to take a closer look at what an IP packet looks like and how it works. The IP header is the controlling part of any IP packet. The actual data follows the IP header part in the IP packet. Routing decisions and priorities are determined by values in different parts of the IP header. The structure of the IP header might not be important for the Solaris network administration certification purpose, but it is really helpful in understanding many of the networking concepts that are discussed here and in upcoming chapters. Figure 2.7 shows the basic IPv4 header.

Figure 2.7. Structure of an IP header.

Each ...