![]() ![]() What is the difference between these loopback addresses (I assume 127.0.0.1 - 127.0.0.255?) and "real" (maybe non-loopback is the better word?) IP addresses?Īll IP addresses are "real". Some operating systems have the loopback interface as an interface you can see and manipulate like any other interface (Linux and the common lo interface versus ones like eth0, etc.), and some make the loopback interface invisible (Windows). So, operating systems can present a "loopback" interface to applications, which internally will take incoming traffic and basically copy it to the interface's output buffer without handing it to a device driver that talks to a physical NIC - hence "loopback". Interfaces do not have to be backed by physical hardware, an operating system can provide a driver that looks like a network interface to an application, but is really something else. IP addresses are assigned to interfaces, not computers, etc. Like what software/hardware says, "StoneThrow's PC, you're assigned 72.212.216.41, so your C programs are allowed to call bind() with that address"? I think the gist of my questions is I'm trying to understand how IP address assignment/availability works in the context of a single PC. ![]()
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