Composed of a 32-bit binary array, for ease of use, it is often represented in the form of XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX, where each XXX represents a decimal number less than or equal to 255. For example, one of Wikimedia's IP addresses is 208.80.152.2. The addresses can be divided into five categories: A, B, C, D, and E, with E being a special reserved address.
IP addresses are unique. Currently, the maximum number of IP addresses available in the IP technology is about 4.2 billion. At first glance, it may seem difficult to exhaust them, but due to issues in early coding and allocation, many areas' codes have actually been left unused or unavailable. Coupled with the popularity of the Internet, most households now have at least one computer, along with company computers and various devices connected to the Internet, consuming a large amount of IPv4 address resources.
With the rapid growth of the Internet, the allocation of the 4.2 billion IPv4 addresses was eventually exhausted on February 3, 2011. Corresponding research organizations have studied the 128-bit IPv6, which can have a maximum of 3.402823669 × 10^38 IP addresses, allowing every appliance in every household, every object, and even every grain of sand on Earth to have its own IP address.
蘊藏許多助人的知識與智慧。