Each IP address is a 32-bit number, which means
that there are about 4.3 trillion address combinations.
These addresses must be allocated in a way
that balances the need for administrative and routing
efficiency with the need to retain as many
usable addresses as possible.
Dotted decimal: The most common notation for
describing an IP address is dotted decimal. Dotted
decimal breaks a 32-bit binary number into four
8-bit numbers (represented in decimal form), which
is called an octet. Each octet is separated by a period,
which aids in the organizational scheme to be
discussed. For example, the binary address
00001010100000001011001000101110 can be
represented in dotted decimal as 10.128.178.46.