|  | 10.3 | IP Addresses within the IP Header
| 10.3.1 | Network layer datagrams

The Internet Protocol (IP) is the most popular implementation of a hierarchical network addressing scheme. IP is the network protocol the Internet uses. As information flows down the layers of the OSI model, the data is encapsulated at each layer. At the network layer, the data is encapsulated within packets (also known as datagrams). IP determines the form of the IP packet header (which includes addressing and other control information), but does not concern itself with the actual data -- it accepts whatever is passed down from the higher layers.

Figures and explain this further. For more information on IP and IP addressing, visit some of these sites:

| Web Links
| IP Address Subnetting Tutorial
| IP Addressing Architecture