IP stands for Internet Protocol. An IP 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: host or network interface identification and location addressing.
Example:
Think of an IP address like a home address for your computer or any device connected to the internet. Just as your home address helps mail carriers know where to deliver your mail, an IP address helps the internet know where to send data.
For instance, when you type a website's address (like www.example.com) into your browser, your computer needs to find the IP address associated with that domain to communicate with the website's server. The IP address helps route the data from your computer to the correct destination on the internet.
There are two types of IP addresses: IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6). IPv4 addresses look like this: 192.168.0.1, while IPv6 addresses are longer and look like this: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.
