IP Addressing Explained: Data Transfer, IPv4, and IPv6 Fundamentals | Internet of Things - IoT

IP addressing is essential for data transfer in computer networks. It assigns unique identifiers to devices, enabling communication and connectivity. A practical example of IP addressing can be seen in IoT systems, where each device requires an IP address to send and receive information effectively.

IoT systems consist of various IoT devices equipped with sensors that continuously collect data. These sensors play a crucial role in monitoring and gathering information from the environment, enabling real-time insights and responses.

Sensors collect data and transmit it to the cloud, making this information accessible over a network. This process enables real-time monitoring and analysis of sensor-generated data from various locations.

Network cloud hosts numerous applications accessible to users via mobile devices, laptops, or desktops. Users retrieve data from the internet through IP addressing. While each device has a physical address, data transfer on the internet relies on logical addresses known as IP addresses for effective communication.

In a scenario where an IoT device in Canada is accessed by a user in India, data must traverse numerous intermediary nodes due to the vast distance. Each node, such as routers along the path, uses IP addresses for data transfer; router one has a source IP address while router two holds the destination IP address. This process continues through multiple routers until it reaches its final destination. It's important to note that these are logical addresses assigned dynamically by network administrators and can change over time or based on circumstances.

IP addressing is essential for transferring data between intermediary nodes on the internet. It involves logical addressing, which differs from physical addresses; IP addresses are used to route data effectively. Every device connected to a network has both a physical and a logical address, but access to online data relies solely on these logical IP addresses.

Routing in networks relies on IP addresses, which serve as logical identifiers for data transmission. These addresses are dynamically assigned and can change over time based on various factors. Currently, both IPv4 (32 bits) and IPv6 (128 bits) protocols are utilized due to the overwhelming number of devices—over 32 billion—connected to the internet compared to a global population of approximately 7.85 billion. The limited capacity of IPv4 necessitates the adoption of IPv6 for future scalability in addressing needs; however, both protocols coexist today for effective data transfer.