IP Address

A computer network is a collection of two or more interconnected computers, which communicate with each other electronically. Each computer in a network has a unique numerical and logical identifier termed as Internet Protocol (IP) address. In fact, any device that connects to or participates in a network, is assigned an IP address.

An IP address is typically stored as binary numbers; however they are displayed in numerical form to make them human-readable. An IP address is classified as a 32-bit number under the Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) system. The internet protocol is also responsible for routing data packets between networks. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved the 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 block as a private network.

192.168.2.1

192.168.2.1 is the default IP address for specific types of residential broadband routers, and is a private IPv4 network address. Private IP addresses can be used repeatedly, as long as they are present on separate networks. SMC and Belkin broadband routers use this IP address as their default gateway. These routers use Network Address Translation (NAT) to correctly recognize and route information to the computers in their network.

Accessing the router administrator console

The router’s administrator console can be accessed by typing http://192.168.2.1 in any internet browser. The administrator console or router configuration page is used to set up router capabilities such as PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet), PPPoA (Point to Point Protocol over ATM), Firewall settings, Mac Access Control, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and so on.

The router’s Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is utilized to automatically designate IP addresses to computers that are on its network. Hence, it is not desirable to set any of the computers with a static IP address of 192.168.2.1, as this will lead to an IP clash on the network. The router by design allocates the appropriate IP addresses for the network computers within the 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 IP range.