An IPv4 address is a _______ number, normally expressed in decimal as four octets ranging in value from 0 to 255, separated by dots.

An IPv4 address is a 32-bit number, which is crucial to its structure and function in networking. It is represented in decimal format as four octets, where each octet consists of 8 bits. Each of these octets can hold a value ranging from 0 to 255, and they are separated by dots to create the familiar dotted-decimal format (for example, 192.168.1.1).

The 32-bit nature of IPv4 addresses allows for a total of about 4.3 billion unique addresses (2^32), which was one of the primary addressing formats used in networks during the early days of the internet. Each octet's range from 0 to 255 corresponds precisely to the 8 bits since 2^8 equals 256 possible values (from 0 to 255).

Choosing other options like 8-bit, 128-bit, or 48-bit would not align with the structure of an IPv4 address. For instance, an 8-bit address would only allow for 256 unique values, which is insufficient for modern networking needs. A 128-bit address is associated with IPv6, which was introduced to overcome the limitations of IPv4 regarding the total number of available IP