HP 175X - JetDirect Print Server User Manual page 23

NETWORKS
Addresses
Each device on the network has a
unique address. This allows you
to communicate with a specific
computer (or other device, such
as a printer). That way, your e-
mail doesn't go to everybody,
and your print job doesn't get
printed simultaneously on all
printers on the network.
There are several addressing
schemes for networks. Of these,
the most popular is that of the
Internet Protocol (IP). In
addition to being used on the
Internet, IP addressing can also
be used for standalone networks
that don't connect to the
Internet. The network addresses
shown in the illustration are
sample IP addresses.
Other network addressing
schemes you may encounter
include IPX (used with Novell
NetWare networks), DLC, and
AppleTalk. In this tutorial, we
limit our discussion of network
addressing to IP addressing, as it
is the most popular.
The number of possible IP
addresses is huge. So is the
number of Internet users, and
the possibility of conflicts is a
real one. If you use IP addresses
on your LAN and that LAN
connects to the Internet, you
must be careful to use addresses
that have come from a reliable
source, such as your Internet
service provider (ISP).