Version
Contains a 4-bit binary value set to 0100 that identifies this
as an IPv4 packet.
Internet Header Length
A 4-bit field containing the length of the IP header.
The minimum length of an IP header is 20 bytes.
DiffServ (DS)
Formerly called the Type of Service (ToS) field, the DS
field is an 8-bit field used to determine the priority of each
packet.
The six most significant bits of the DiffServ field are the
Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP).
The last two bits are the Explicit Congestion Notification
(ECN) bits.
Total Length
Specifies the length of the IP packet including the IP header and the user data.
The total length field is 2 bytes, so the maximum size of an IP packet is 65,535 bytes; however, packets are much
smaller in practice.
Iden fica on, Flag and Fragment Offset
As an IP packet moves through the internet, it might need to cross a route that cannot handle the size of the packet.
The packet will be divided, or fragmented, into smaller packets and reassembled later.
These fields are used to fragment and reassemble packets.
Time-To-Live (TTL)
Contains an 8-bit binary value that is used to limit
the lifetime of a packet.
The packet sender sets the initial TTL value, and
it is decreased by one each time the packet is
processed by a router.
If the TTL field decrements to zero, the router
discards the packet and sends an Internet
Control Message Protocol (ICMP) Time
Exceeded message to the source IP address.
Protocol
Field is used to identify the next level protocol.
This 8-bit binary value indicates the data payload
type that the packet is carrying, which enables
the network layer to pass the data to the
appropriate upper-layer protocol.
Common values include ICMP (1), TCP (6), and
UDP (17).
Header Checksum
A value that is calculated based on the contents of the IP header.
Used to determine if any errors have been introduced during transmission.
Source IPv4 Address
Contains a 32-bit binary value that represents the source IPv4 address of the packet.
The source IPv4 address is always a unicast address.
Des na on IPv4 Address
Contains a 32-bit binary value that represents the
destination IPv4 address of the packet.
Op ons And Padding
This is a field that varies in length from 0 to a
multiple of 32 bits.
If the option values are not a multiple of 32 bits,
0s are added, or padded, to ensure that this field
contains a multiple of 32 bits.
