What Does Binding Multiple IP Addresses to One Network Adapter Mean?
Nearly every personal computer made today has data network access, due to the ease of connecting to networks and the value of the information on them. A computer has a device called a network adapter that sends data as electrical impulses. In order for other computers to recognize the adapter, it has an identity code known as an IP address. The adapter has at least one address, though it may have several.
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Network Adapter
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Your computer has one or more network adapters, which are necessary for a network connection. The adapter has either a socket for accepting an Ethernet connector or a radio antenna for a wireless data network. It acts as a translator between the computer’s data and the network’s signals. Though adapters were once options on computers, they have been standard items since the 1990s, owing to the rapid growth of networks in general and the Internet in particular.
IP Addresses
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For a computer to join a network, the network must issue it an identification number called an Internet Protocol (IP) address. In 2011, this is commonly a set of four three-digit numbers from 0 to 255, though this will soon expand to a larger numbering system. When your computer sends data to another, the computer on the receiving end detects your address and can send a reply.
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Binding
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The operating system you use, whether it is Mac OSX, Microsoft Windows, Linux or another, has information on your computer’s network adapter. The operating system runs your network programs, such as email clients and Web browsers, and forwards their data to the adapter, which sends it to the network. Your operating system’s network utility software has the adapter’s make and model in addition to other information. For the adapter to work with the network software, it must bind the IP address to the adapter. The network utility can bind several addresses to the adapter if needed. Some programs use multiple addresses, each address belonging to a unique service on a computer.
Uses
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A common use for multiple addresses is Web hosting. One computer can hold many websites as long as they have modest amounts of user traffic; each IP address uniquely identifies a different website on the computer. If your computer has a connection to a complex network, it may communicate with only a limited part of that network. For example, the engineering department of a large company has its own network segment, but a manager in engineering may also need access to the sales network. To make this work, the manager adds a second IP address to the adapter.
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References
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