GCSE Computer Science (Pearson IGCSE)

Topic Summaries

COMPUTER SYSTEMS: Wired and wireless networks, protocols, and layers

IP and MAC addressing

  • IP address: a unique logical address identifying a device on a network used to route data to the correct device across different networks.
    • IPv4 format: 32 bits long, consisting of 4 numbers between 0–255 separated by dots (e.g. 192.168.1.1).
    • IPv6 format: 128 bits long, consisting of 8 groups of 4 hexadecimal digits separated by colons (e.g. 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).
  • MAC (Media Access Control) address: a unique physical address assigned to a network interface card (NIC). It identifies a device within a local network and is used by switches to forward data to the correct device.
    • Format: six pairs of hexadecimal digits (e.g. 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E).

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