thinQmaster Virtual testing partner Adaptive practice exams that find your weak spots and drill them. Every answer explained. From $69
Enroll

thinQmaster

Find your exam

Five questions free, before you decide.

Step 1 · choose a vendor

In one of our camps? Your practice exams come with the tuition — they are on your study page already.

Networking Fundamentals · Foundational

IP Address

A logical Layer 3 address that identifies a network interface and its network for routing purposes.

Definition

An IP address has a network portion, shared by all hosts on the subnet, and a host portion, unique to the interface. Addresses can be assigned statically or dynamically through DHCP or SLAAC. Unlike a MAC address, an IP address is hierarchical and can change when a device moves between networks.

Example

A laptop might hold 10.20.30.40 at work and 192.168.1.15 at home.

Exam tip

IP addresses are logical (Layer 3) and routable; MAC addresses are physical (Layer 2) and local to a segment.

Don't confuse it with

Related terms