Converting IP Addresses

Converting IP Addresses

IP addresses are 32-bit binary numbers, but because humans would find it inconvenient to write down 32-bit numbers, the addresses are written in decimal. The format of decimal IP addresses is often called canonical format, and sometimes called dotted decimal format. For example, the next two lines show the binary version of an IP address, followed by the same IP address written as a dotted decimal number. It's obvious from comparing the two that, given a choice, it's typically much easier to work with the decimal version:

00001000 00000100 00000010 000000001

8.4.2.1