IP (Internet Protocol)
IP (Internet Protocol) is the fundamental protocol that addresses and routes data packets across networks and the internet. Every device on a network is given an IP address — a numerical label that uniquely identifies it — and IP is responsible for getting packets of data from the source device to the correct destination, hop by hop, across interconnected networks. It is the “IP” in TCP/IP, the core suite on which the internet runs.
IP underpins essentially all modern networked communication, including the connectivity behind logistics systems, cloud platforms, EDI/API data exchange and IoT devices — every connected sensor, gateway, server and application is reachable via an IP address. The long-standing version, IPv4, uses 32-bit addresses (about 4.3 billion), which have effectively run out; the successor, IPv6, provides a vastly larger address space needed for the explosion of connected devices. While usually invisible to users, IP is the foundational addressing and routing layer that makes networked logistics, cloud and IoT possible. Understanding IP (and the shift to IPv6) is basic background for how connected systems and devices communicate. It is the bedrock of internet connectivity.
Every connected thing in logistics — servers, cloud platforms, EDI links, IoT sensors and gateways — is reachable because it has an IP address and IP routes data to it. It is the invisible addressing layer beneath all networked communication. Knowing IP, and why the world is moving to IPv6, is basic background for understanding how connected systems and devices actually talk to each other.
What is an IP address?
A numerical label uniquely identifying a device on a network, used by IP to route data to it.
Why is IPv6 replacing IPv4?
IPv4's ~4.3 billion addresses have run out; IPv6 provides a vastly larger address space needed for the growing number of connected devices.