What are the Dots in IPv4 Addresses?
IPv4 addresses are normally displayed in “dotted decimal” format. Each segment represents a byte and is separated by a dot. A byte is eight bits, so the value for each segment is represented as a number between 0 and 255.
- Each segment in an IPv4 address represents one byte, or eight bits. These segments are shown as decimal numbers from 0 to 255.
- Dotted decimal notation is used for human convenience. Computers generally use binary for numbers.
- IPv6 addresses have a similar display method. But each segment is 16-bits and a colon is used as the separator instead of a dot.
This format makes it clear where blocks of addresses can start and stop. They look like 198.51.100.57 but the same address can be shown in different formats. Other formats are not normally visible to users.
| Dotted decimal | 198.51.100.57 |
| Binary (base 2) | 1100 0110 0011 0011 0110 0100 0011 1001 |
| Octal (base 8) | 30 614 662 071 |
| Decimal (base 10) | 3,325,256,761 |
| Hexadecimal (base 16) | C6336439 |