Logical Address

Logical address also referred to as IP (Internet Protocol) address is an universal addressing system. It is used in the Network layer. This address facilitates universal communication that are not dependent on the underlying physical networks. There are two types of IP addresses – IPv4 and IPv6.

The size of IPv4 is 32 bits. For example ,

192 : 180 : 210 where, 1 octant = 8 bits.

The size of IPv6 is 128 bits. For example ,

1C18 : 1B32 : C450 : 62A5 : 34DC : AE24 : 15BC : 6A5D where , 1 octant = 16 bits.

Below is a diagram representing the working mechanism of Logical address:

In the above diagram , we can see that there are two networks – Network 1 and Network 2. A1 is the sender and there are two receivers – D1 and D2. In case of logical address, receiver D1 as well as D2 receives the data. This is because logical address can be passed in different networks. The purpose of using logical address is to send the data across networks.

Advantages

• Logical address can be used in different networks because they can traverse through routers.
• They can handle a number devices and networks. Even if the number of devices and network increases, the logical address is able to handle all them very easily. Thus, they are highly scalable.

Disadvantages

• Internet Protocol is vulnerable to attacks such as hacking, phishing etc. and there can be data loss.
• It lacks privacy. The data which is moving through the packets can be intercepted, traced and monitored by unauthorized entities.

We can connect two nodes in a network to communicate with each other with the help of addressing. There are four levels of addressing in a network employing the TCP/IP protocol physical address, Logical address, Port address, and Specific address.