IPv4

Internet Protocol Version 4

IPv4 is the original version of the Internet Protocol (IP), which was first developed in the 1970s. It uses 32-bit addresses, which allows for a total of approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses. IPv4 is still widely used today, but it is running out of available addresses due to the rapid growth of the internet.

An IPv4 address is a 32-bit numerical address that consists of four octets (8-bit blocks) separated by periods. For example, the following is a valid IPv4 address:

192.168.1.1

Each octet of an IPv4 address can have a value between 0 and 255, which allows for a total of approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses. IPv4 addresses can be written in decimal notation (e.g. 192.168.1.1) or in hexadecimal notation (e.g. 0xC0A80101). IPv6 is the newer version.

• Abbreviation: IPv4