An IP address is the identity of a device on a network. This article explains the difference between IPv4 and IPv6, and subnet concepts important for network design.

IPv4 vs IPv6

IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses (example: 192.168.0.1), while IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses for a much larger address space.

Basic subnetting

Subnetting divides a network into smaller parts for isolation and efficiency. Example: the network 192.168.1.0/24 has 256 addresses, with 254 usable hosts.