What is a network address?

A network address is a unique code that identifies an interface telecommunication network. A network may use more than one type of network address. Network addresses make it easy for users to communicate within a network.

The different types of network addresses include telephone numbers, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses for computers on a public network, an IPX address in a local area network, an X.25/x.21 address used in a circuit-switched data network and the Media Access Control (MAC) address for network connections on an Ethernet. The IP addresses consist of four bytes (32 bits) while MAC addresses consist of six bytes (48 bits).