Introduction of IP Addresses (Internet Protocol Address)

            An IP Address is the abbreviation of Internet Protocol Address, and it is actually network hardware’s identifying number, which shows its connection with a network. The major fact about an IP address is that a device can communicate with many other devices and for this purpose a network is used, which is based on IP network. A comprehensive definition to understand an IP address states that “An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a logical numeric address that is assigned to every single computer, printer, switch, router or any other device that is part of a TCP/IP-based network.” It is important to understand that in development of a networking architecture, the role of IP address is crucial in so many ways, because if there would be no IP address, then a network cannot exist. There are different nodes in any given network, but how each node will be identified uniquely; it is possible with the help of an IP address. It is also important to know that IP addresses can be complex, but they are actually logical, and they can change as well. Different numbers are used to show an IP address, and it is essential to understand that there are two parts of these numerals given with an IP address; one part is to show the exact and pinpoint location of the host and other network part is to specify that certain address is belonged to which network (Techopedia, 2019)

Understanding of IP Addresses (Internet Protocol Address)

        Overall, it may look to be a complex thing to understand that what an IP address is and how it works. But it can be simplified to understand by giving certain example. For instance, the address of a town or city has the similarity with an IP address, because a town address will allow someone to send their mails or letters to their family & friends, and seemingly, what message is going to be sent to a node on the network is specified with the help of an IP address (CRAWFORD, 2019). It is crucial to understand the fact that in networking concept, the role of an IP address is extremely important. If one computer has to send data to another computer, then how it would know about the location of the hardware on a network; it will be done with the help of an IP address, because it works as a unique identifier for each hardware on the network. The IP addresses are using two types of standards; one is called IPv4 and the other is called IPv6. There is a difference between the two versions as 32 binary bits are used by IPv4 and 128 binary bits are used by IPv6. It is also vital to know that IP addresses possible combinations with IPv4 were limited to some extent, so new IP addresses are always needed to expand the networks, so IPv6 was introduced, which comes with lot more possible IP addresses combinations. The IP address can be either static or dynamic. The static IP address does not change, but dynamic IP address is given to each computer with the help of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) (Fisher, 2019)

What is 192.168.1.1?

        There are many standard IP addresses available as well, which can be used by variety of users and one of such IP address is 192.168.1.1. This particular IP address is used by broadband routers, home network gateway etc. There are different brands of routers who use this IP address for admin login panel, which is used to make settings of the router on a network. This IP address is an important one for the network administrators as they can handle so many things with the help of this IP. They not only set up the settings for routers, but they also update those settings with the help of this IP address. In technical terms, one should understand that any device like printer or computer can use this IP address, but it is not recommended to do so, because conflict of IP address can arise due to this. It is also important to understand that such IP address is private one, and private networks use them for different purposes. There is a range for this IP address, and network administrators can use this range to establish a private network for their network or router settings. It is a fact that there are many companies, which use this IP address, but there process to login to this IP for router admin panel can be different from each other. It is also observed that such router IP addresses come with various issues, but they certainly can be handled by following the giving manual or procedure by each network administrator or company, who owns that IP address for certain purposes (Mitchell, 2019)

        It is a well known fact that 192.168.1.1 is considered to be a default IP address. There are many companies around the world, which use this private IP address for their router settings, and one of such companies is Linksys routers. The statistics have shown that Linksys is one of the largest companies in the world involved in manufacturing routers, and the company is now known to be a Cisco’s division. It is important to mention here that Linksys does use this IP address for their routers, but they don’t own this IP address by any means. Other router companies can also use this IP address for their router settings, however different companies prefer to use different IP addresses. It is mentioned earlier that 192.168.1.1 is not public; rather it is private IP address. It is vital to understand that how this kind of IP address works for its users. If this private IP address is assigned to any local network like any business or school then such users cannot connect internet through this IP, but they can access local network with given permissions of the network administrator. Moreover, if a computer or device is not located within a private IP network, and it comes from outside, then it certainly cannot connect to that particular local network. There are different ranges of these IP addresses which can start from 10.0.0.0 and it can go to 10.255.255.255. It is estimated that if all ranges of these IP addresses is explored, then possible values can go up to 4.3 billion (TECH-FAQ, 2019)

        This private IP address can be used by users so that they can configure their network settings like changing password or changing the name of their network etc. But it is often observed that when such attempts are made, users do face issues while they try to login to any such private IP address. For instance, if a user wants to see its password on a network router or user wants to have a look at default settings and some basic information about the network, then they will have to login with given login name and password so that they can enter the settings panel. This router console cannot be logged in if a user does not know its password, which is dedicated by the network administrator. During this login process, a user can face variety of issues like there may be an error of IP address issue on a given device or computer or incorrect entry to the IP address. There might be a situation where a user is able to open the user panel page of the router but still error in login. It can be because wrong password or user name is entered. Moreover, Ethernet cable should be connected to the router, if it is not properly connected then user cannot login the router user panel to update or configure router settings (TurboFuture, 2019)

What is 192.168.10.1?

        It is another private IP addresses mostly used for the routers to login their admin panel. Every router has a management interface, where all settings and information of a router is available, and when a user wants to update or alter settings, and then it can be done by accessing this private IP. It has been observed that it is one of the mostly used IP addresses from range of private IP addresses. It is important to keep in mind that 192.168.10.1 is not an IP address, which can be used through the internet, rather it is also a private and local IP address, and it can only be accessed by those, who have its configuration with user name and password. The users outside of a router network cannot connect with such kind of IP address. It is a fact that public IP address for every device would be unique, but that is not the case with IP address like 192.168.10.1. It is a kind of IP address which can be used by unlimited users, but each users will have to login with permitted credentials. If proper username and password is not known for a certain private IP address, then it cannot be logged-in. But two devices in range of a same network cannot have same kind of IP address, because it will come up with a conflict of IP address. It is like if two houses will have same address, then postman won’t be able to figure out that letter should be dispatched to which one. There must be some unique identification in this regard. The 192.168.10.1 comes from the family of IPv4 family, and as technology is growing and developing with time, it is expected that this IP address may become obsolete in the future. It is expected because there IP address advanced version IPv6 has been introduced and everyone is switching to IP addresses from this version. The internet service provided from all across the globe have started using IPv6, which means that there will be a time, when IP addresses like 192.168.10.1 would not exist anymore. The class of this IP address is “C” as per given classes of IP addresses (NetSpot Pro, 2019)

Conclusion on of IP Addresses (Internet Protocol Address)

        After understanding IP addresses, and discussing IP addresses like 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.10.1, it can be said that IP addresses are so important and critical, and if they do not exist, then internet cannot function with all its functionalities. Every device on the internet and network must be identified with a unique identifier, and that unique identifier is an IP address. Both 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.10.1 addresses are used by network administrator and routers to manage their settings, update them with any changes etc. These IP addresses are private ones, and they can be used with the help of particular user name and passwords

 References of IP Addresses (Internet Protocol Address)

CRAWFORD, S. (2019). What is an IP address? Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/what-is-an-ip-address.htm

Fisher, T. (2019). What Is an IP Address? Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-an-ip-address-2625920

Mitchell, B. (2019). Linksys Router Admin IP Address 192.168.1.1. Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://www.lifewire.com/192-168-1-1-818067

NetSpot Pro. (2019). 192.168.10.1 IP Address . Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://www.netspotapp.com/192-168-10-1.html

TECH-FAQ. (2019). 192.168.1.1 – What Are its Uses and Why is it Important? Retrieved August 11, 2019, from http://www.tech-faq.com/192-168-1-1.html

Techopedia. (2019). Internet Protocol Address (IP Address). Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/2435/internet-protocol-address-ip-address

TurboFuture. (2019). How to Fix the 192.168.1.1 and Get Logged Into Your Router. Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://turbofuture.com/consumer-electronics/192-168-1-1