An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. It serves two main functions: identifying the host or network interface and providing the location of the device in the network.
There are two types of IP addresses:
IPv4: This is the most commonly used format, consisting of four sets of numbers ranging from 0 to 255, separated by periods (e.g., 192.168.1.1).
IPv6: This is a newer format designed to replace IPv4, consisting of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).