Difference between revisions of "What is an IP Address?"
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== Are Private Addresses Bad? == | == Are Private Addresses Bad? == | ||
| − | A Private Address can only access the Internet through a router with [[NAT]], which could interfere with the performance of [[mesh network]]ing. | + | A Private Address can only access the Internet through a router with [[NAT]], which could interfere with the performance of [[mesh network]]ing. To improve your access to the game, you may want to configure your router (See [[NAT]]). |
Latest revision as of 06:54, 5 May 2020
All devices that communicate over the Internet have an Internet Protocol (IP) address.
The current standard is IPv6 (Internet Protocol, Version 6), but many legacy devices still use the IPv4 (Internet Protocol, Version 4) as well.
(There is no Version 5.)
What does one look like?[edit]
An IPv6 address is made up of several groups of letters (a-f) and digits (0-9) in groups of 2 or 4, with colons (:) between them, for example:
feef::42:f549:ad84:89bb
An IPv4 address can be written the same way, but always begins with ::ffff:
::ffff:0a03:0405
More often, IPv4 addresses are written using “dotted quad” form, which are four numbers (0-255 each) separated with dots (.) after the ::ffff:
::ffff:245.189.153.0
Also, the leading ::ffff: may be omitted:
192.168.122.7
It is not uncommon for an IP address to have a netmask or CIDR number after it, with a slash. This is not a part of the address (it's used to direct traffic):
10.20.30.40/25
In this example, the address is ::ffff:10.20.30.40 — the number 25 is not a part of the address.
What are Private Addresses?[edit]
Private Use addresses are not usable on the public Internet. They're often used as part of disconnected (or partially-connected) private networks.
These address prefixes are reserved for private use. “x” means any number:
- ::ffff:10.x.x.x (same as ::ffff:0axx:xxxx)
- ::ffff:117.16.x.x through ::ffff:117.31.x.x (same as ::ffff::751x:xxxx)
- ::ffff:192.168.x.x (same as ::ffff:c0a8:xxxx)
- ::ffff:169.254.x.x (same as ::ffff:a9fe:xxxx)
- All addresses beginning with fd:: or fd00:
- All addresses beginning with fe80:
Remember, ::ffff: is often left off of IPv4 addresses. (So ::ffff:0a01:0203 = :ffff:10.1.2.3 is usually written 10.1.2.3)
Private addresses beginning with fe80: or ::ffff:a9fe: (::ffff:169.254.) are local-link auto-assignments for networks without a router or server available. The others may be assigned in various ways.
Are Private Addresses Bad?[edit]
A Private Address can only access the Internet through a router with NAT, which could interfere with the performance of mesh networking. To improve your access to the game, you may want to configure your router (See NAT).