Why does the IPv4 header include a length for both the header and the overall length of the datagram?

Why does the IPv4 header include a length for both the header and the overall length of the datagram?

The short answer is yes – the IPv4 spec says its necessary, and so it is, at least for compatibility purposes. The long answer is that some layer 2 transports will pad a datagram if it’s under a particular size. the IP length header is important when this occurs, so that the layer two padding can be discarded.

What is the difference between total length and header length?

If I am correct, the total length field shows the length of the overall packet. The internet header length (ihl) shows the length of the header and whether options are set or not.

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What is the size of total header length in IPv4 header?

Version The version is 4, which stands for IPv4. IHL The Internet header length is 20 bytes.

Does IPv4 have a fixed length header?

Recall that the IPv4 header is not a fixed length. It has a minimum length of 20 bytes (an IP Header Length value of 5), but when IP options are included, a maximum length of up to 60 bytes (a value of 15, or 0x0F) may be indicated.

What is IPv4 protocol explain IPv4 header format with diagram?

IPV4 header format is of 20 to 60 bytes in length, contains information essential to routing and delivery, consist of 13 fields, VER, HLEN, service type, total length, identification, flags, fragmentation offset, time to live, protocol, header checksum, source IP address, Destination IP address and option + padding.

What is IPv4 protocol and explain IPv4 header format?

What is protocol header?

An IP header is header information at the beginning of an Internet Protocol (IP) packet. An IP packet is the smallest message entity exchanged via the Internet Protocol across an IP network. The header contains information about IP version, source IP address, destination IP address, time-to-live, etc.

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How does IP header calculate total length?

Total length = Header length + Payload length. Minimum header length = 20 bytes. So, maximum amount of data that can be sent in the payload field = 216 – 20 bytes.

What is IPv4 header field?

The IPv4 header is variable in size due to the optional 14th field (options). The IHL field contains the size of the IPv4 header, it has 4 bits that specify the number of 32-bit words in the header. The minimum value for this field is 5, which indicates a length of 5 × 32 bits = 160 bits = 20 bytes.

What is the IPv4 protocol explain the IPv4 header format with diagram?

What is the size of the header in IPv4?

IPv4 Datagram Header Size of the header is 20 to 60 bytes. VERSION: Version of the IP protocol (4 bits), which is 4 for IPv4 HLEN: IP header length (4 bits), which is the number of 32 bit words in the header.

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What is the maximum length of an IP header?

Size of the header is 20 to 60 bytes. HLEN: IP header length (4 bits), which is the number of 32 bit words in the header. The minimum value for this field is 5 and the maximum is 15. Total Length: Length of header + Data (16 bits), which has a minimum value 20 bytes and the maximum is 65,535 bytes.

What is the bit pattern of IHL field in IPv4 header?

The bit pattern of is IHL field in IPv4 header is 0101, which is equal to five in decimals. Please refer below image to understand the meaning of 32-bit words of IPv4 header.

What is the 4 bit field in IPv4?

Version is a 4 bit field that indicates the IP version used. The most popularly used IP versions are version-4 (IPv4) and version-6 (IPv6). Only IPv4 uses the above header. So, this field always contains the decimal value 4.