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IP addresses are four sets of numbers separated by periods (dots). Because the IP address is 32 bits long, each of the four numbers is 8 bits long, which limits the maximum value of any segment to 255. The highest possible IP address, then, is 255.255.255.255. Because each segment is 8 bits, it is called an octet, and the segments are referred to as the first, second, third and fourth octets. IP addresses can be assigned as a static IP address (a fixed PC location) or as a dynamic assigned IP address (changeable). A static IP address is permanently assigned to a node when it is added to the network. Static IP addresses work as long as the network doesn't move, the NIC card is not interchanged with other PCs, or the network is never reconfigured. If a network expects to be reconfigured, however, it should use dynamically assigned IP addresses. Each time the PC is booted, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server assigns it an IP address to use for that session. Both Windows 9x and Windows NT have DHCP clients built in. |