On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:30:22 -0400, Bill Ward <[email protected]> wrote:
On Sun, Oct 9, 2011 at 7:44 AM, Paul Bennett
<[email protected]>wrote:
Ah, but an IP address *is* really a number. An unsigned 128-bit
integer, in
fact, with some additional properties that are specific to the
semantics of IP addresses themselves.
An unsigned base 256 4-digit number, perhaps....
No.
IPv4 can be represented that way, though at heart they're a 32-bit
unsigned integer (in Network order).
IPv6 is an unsigned 128-bit number (in Network order), and has a space for
compatibility with IPv4 at 0xffffNNNNNNNN.
Therefore it is safe, sane, and consensual to store them all as IPv6
addresses (using the compatibility area for IPv4 addresses).
--
Paul Bennett (PWBENNETT)
