An Internet Protocol (IP) address assigns a unique 32-bit identifier to every interface of every host on the internet.
IP addresses are allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which operates under the umbrella of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

IP Address Classification

IP addresses can be categorized into Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E addresses.

Relationship Between IP Addresses and Hardware Addresses

The IP address is an address used by layers three and above in the network model; it serves as a logical address. In contrast, the physical (MAC) address is utilized at the data link layer and the physical layer of the OSI reference model.