It is quite likely that you have heard at some point the acronyms IP. Even without moving into the world of computing, these letters are recurring on the internet and in related services.
Well it's one of the fundamental elements that make up the how we communicate and we get information nowadays.
If you ever wanted to know what did it mean, how it worked And for what served, you came to the right place. Inside this post you will discover all this and much more. When you finish reading it you will understand what this computer term is about and how to use it correctly.
What is an IP Network and what is it for in Computing?
The best analogy what can be done regarding a IP network is that of a Postal Code. That is, it is an interconnection of IP addresses. In turn, these networks connect to each other and form a large network. Does this definition sound familiar? That is because we are talking about the internet itself. But until now everything is not clear. To improve this, we will try to explain what is an IP address. These acronyms mean Internet protocol. With what we can say are rules and steps to follow in a network set connected.
He is in charge of direct traffic (information) to the right place. As if it were the number and street of your house (following the theme of the postal code). From this we can already distinguish three parts of the direction IP. He destination, origin and package. But this system it doesn't work by itself. Needs a support hardware that is nothing more and nothing less than the router. This device is handled in language IP and is in charge of look for directions IP in a table (routing table) and send the package to that destination.
In the same way as the traditional postal service, it would be impossible to direct the information traffic if all the packages arrived at the same place and will be distributed from there. This is where we need the IP networks. As we will see later, they serve as filters so that this data reaches the port without having to search between all directions. As with international phone codes, area, district, and so on.
IP network protocols Which without all of them interact?
But by itself the IP protocol it is insufficient for the form of connection that we use today. To better understand this concept we will show you which others collaborate to achieve the Internet as we know it today.
Let's see below:
IP
It is the basis through which packages move. And by the latter we mean all kinds of data. Images, pixels, audio, textual information, etc.
We can divide this type into three (as we anticipated earlier):
- The first is destination IP address, that is, where the information is going.
- The second is source IP address. It is merely the location of who originates or forwards the data.
- Finally, we have the IP packet. It is the data set that is transported through the connections from one point to another. It's just the content of an email, an image within a web page or even the content of a video call.
This protocol he has a job, take care of transporting the package from one address to another. Regardless of whether the package arrives correctly (just like the worst traditional mail services).
TCP
Due to the latter, the Transport Control Protocol. Which is the one that supervises the integrity of said packages. What would be a supervisor of IP protocol. IF there is a problem and the package does not reach the final destination TCP indicates IP to send such information. The set of these last two is known as TCP / IP, DoD or DARPA model. On which the Internet currently works.
UDP
With the previous ones we have already ensured that all packages will arrive. However, this is not the case with the order in which they will. This is a minor factor when entering a web page (for example, it doesn't matter which image is loaded first). But the same does not happen with instant communications.
It is time for the User Datagram Protocol. That it is in charge of indicating that the retransmission of the packets is not necessary and prioritizes the order in which they arrive. In this way, data that is not useful is omitted if it is going to be used in the wrong order. For example, tables (frames) that they will not be transmitted in a video call.
RIP, OSPF and BGP
Routing information protocol, Open Short Path and Border Gateway Protocol respectively are protocols that are responsible for fill the table of routing. It is from this list where the router obtains the addresses to send a IP packet.
MPLS
Finally, we find Multiprotocol Label Switch. If you use the language, you will already suspect what it is about. But we can tell you that it is a protocol that is located at the core of a network and that is responsible for labeling routes. In such a way that the packages that go the same way have the same tag. This identification uses its own language.
IP addresses? What are they and how are they different?
As we already mentioned a IP is an address that identify a specific team. It consists of a series of numbers separated by dots.
But in addition to this we can find different types:
- Dynamic IPs go changing the number from your address. They are usually safer since they make tracking difficult, but at the same time less stable.
- Fixed IPs they keep immutable the assigned number. They tend to have a higher download and upload speed, while being more stable. In turn, they can be divided into two categories.
- Public IP. They are visible to the rest of the networks and they are the point of reference for the servers to find our router.
- Private IP. On the contrary the private ones are assigned to each connected device within the network that shares the public IP. For example, inside a WiFi network, the mobile and the computer have IP private different, but both receive information through the Public IP.
In turn, within this last category (private IP) three types of addresses are defined:
- A class. assigns the first byte for network identification, and the last three to be assigned to hosts. They are generally used by large private networks.
- Class B. They are used by SMEs or medium networks with multiple devices connected. In this network, the first two bytes are assigned to identify the network and the rest are for the hosts.
- Class c. They are the most used by homes or home networks. Where the first three bytes identify the network and the remaining hosts (allowing a maximum of 254).
Internet Protocol Versions What are all that exist so far?
Currently and for the moment, on the Internet two versions are used, the 4 and the 6.
Between both there is a great difference and possibilities as we will see below:
IPv4
It's used since 1981 to the present. Many devices still use it. IPv4 It is made up of four series of numbers that go up to the 255 and are separated by points. For example (73.122.131.12). This version of the protocol works with 32 bit (2 with exponent 32). That is why these networks only support a maximum of this amount of connected equipment. This number has been exceeded long ago. So it was decided to incorporate the following version.
IPv6
Unlike its predecessor, this version works on 128 bits, so it allows a huge number of connected devices. The second difference is the way in which an address is expressed (2001: 0db8: 3c4d: 0015: 0000: 0000: 1a2f: 1a2b).
But in addition to the differences, this version it has certain advantages, as they can be, the incorporation of security protocols, increase in performance, even the possibility of switch networks without losing functionality of the direction.