What is an IP address?

Question

Question

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OSSC Junior Stenographer, Junior Typist (Prelims) Official Paper (Held On: 09 Feb, 2025)

Answer 1

The correct answer is A unique identifier for a device on a network.

Key Points

An IP address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
It serves two main purposes: host or network interface identification and location addressing.
IP addresses are usually written in IPv4 (e.g., 192.168.1.1) or IPv6 (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334) format.
IP addresses are crucial for routing data packets between devices on a network.

Additional Information

A software application: A software application refers to programs designed to perform specific tasks for users, such as word processors or web browsers, and is unrelated to IP addresses.
A physical address of the computer: The physical address refers to the MAC (Media Access Control) address, which uniquely identifies devices at the hardware level within local networks.
An internet provider's code: Internet providers use autonomous system numbers (ASN) for routing, not IP addresses. IP addresses are assigned to devices, not providers directly.