ENWW
TCP/IP Overview 207
IP Address: (Network Portion)
Network addresses are managed by an organization in Norfolk,
Virginia recognized as InterNIC. InterNIC has been contracted by
the National Science Foundation to manage the Internet addresses
and domains. Network addresses are distributed to organizations
that are in turn responsible for making sure all attached devices or
hosts on the network are properly numbered. For more information
on the network portion of an IP address, see “
IP Address Structure
and Class
” and “
Subnets
” later in this appendix.
IP Address: (Host Portion)
Host addresses numerically identify specific network interfaces on
an IP network. Usually a host has only one network interface; thus,
only one IP address. Because no two devices can share the same
number at the same time, administrators typically maintain
address tables to assure correct assignment of addresses in the
host network.
