IP Addresses #
IPv4 addresses are 4 byte (32 bit) values that describe a host machine. The four bytes are written in dotted notation, e.g. 140.2.1.12. Each set of 8 bits can range from 0 to 255: 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.
There are different classes of IP addresses which detail how many of the 32 bits correspond to the Network ID and how many of the 32 bits correspond to the Host ID. Class B IP addresses which are probably the most common have 16 bits for the Network ID (the first 2 dotted stanzas) and 16 bits for the Host ID. E.g. 140.2.1.12 has a Network ID of 140.2 and a Host ID of 1.12 if divided up this way.