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Networking Fundamentals · Foundational

Internet Protocol (IP)

The connectionless Layer 3 protocol that addresses and routes packets across interconnected networks.

Definition

IP provides logical addressing and best-effort delivery of packets from a source host to a destination host, possibly across many routers. It does not guarantee delivery, order or integrity of the payload; those are left to upper layers such as TCP. Two versions are in use: IPv4 (32-bit addresses) and IPv6 (128-bit addresses).

Example

Every device on the Internet needs an IP address to send and receive packets.

Exam tip

IP is connectionless and unreliable by design; any reliability comes from TCP or the application.

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