IP address
also: IP, IPv4, IPv6, Internet Protocol address
A unique numerical label assigned to each device on a network that identifies it and enables communication with other devices using the Internet Protocol.
An IP address is a numerical identifier in the format of four numbers separated by dots (IPv4) or eight hexadecimal groups separated by colons (IPv6). For example, 192.168.1.100 is a typical IPv4 address, while 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334 is an IPv6 address.
IP addresses serve two main purposes: identifying a host on a network and routing data packets to the correct destination. Every device connected to the internet or a local network requires an IP address to send and receive data.
Addresses are typically assigned in two ways: static (manually configured and permanent) or dynamic (automatically assigned by a DHCP server and may change). You can view your system's IP address using the ip addr or hostname -I commands.