Basics - AVM FRITZ!Box Fon WLAN Installation And Operation Manual

Basics

8.1 Basics
66 FRITZ!Box Fon WLAN 7170 – 8 Network Settings
What Is IP?
IP is the abbreviation for Internet Protocol.
The IP Internet Protocol is the most important basic protocol
for the control of data exchange in local networks and in the
Internet. The Internet protocol works without a connection;
in other words, data packets are transmitted from the sender
to the recipient without previous consultation. The address-
es of the recipient and the sender in the data packets are
given as IP addresses.
IP Network
A network in which data exchange takes place on the basis
of the Internet Protocol is called an IP network.
What Is an IP Address?
The term IP address is the abbreviation for Internet Protocol
address.
The IP address corresponds to the "postal address" of a de-
vice located in the Internet or in a local IP network. So that
data packets are sure to be delivered to the right address,
each IP address may be assigned only once within the Inter-
net or a local IP network.
The IP address consists of four three-digit groups of numbers
(e.g. 192.168.178.254). Each group of numbers can assume
values between 000 and 255.
Every IP address contains two components: the network ad-
dress and the host address. These two components can be
read out of an IP address only if the subnet mask is also
specified.
IP addresses can be public or private, and also fixed or as-
signed dynamically.