{ "model": { "rank": 2075, "code": "thing-q11135", "model_id": "vr.tr.ip-address", "name": "IP address", "purpose": "Let an agent explain IP addresses, relay formats, allocation, private ranges, DHCP, NAT and privacy from IETF, IANA and data protection sources, describe the named address types and flag network aliases, and distinguish IP addresses from MAC addresses, domain names, ports and physical locations, without enabling tracking or attacks.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Information and virtual systems", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "INF", "domain": "INF.MED", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q11135/", "tier": 2, "score": 116, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "private network", "Enterprise private network", "dynamic IP address", "static IP address", "IPv6 address", "unique local address", "reserved IP address", "IPv4 address", "public network", "link-local address", "virtual IP address" ], "aliasCount": 11, "merged": 11, "knownIn": 116, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": null, "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q11135", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11135", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-13T23:00:42Z", "providers": [ "Claude" ], "breadth": "written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify", "pass": 2, "wave": 4, "engine": "claude" }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q11135", "registryId": "vr.tr.ip-address", "name": "IP address", "version": "0.2.0-wave.4", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "INF.MED" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q11135/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.ip-address", "name": "IP address", "purpose": "Let an agent explain IP addresses, relay formats, allocation, private ranges, DHCP, NAT and privacy from IETF, IANA and data protection sources, describe the named address types and flag network aliases, and distinguish IP addresses from MAC addresses, domain names, ports and physical locations, without enabling tracking or attacks.", "definition": "A numerical label assigned to a network interface on a network that uses the Internet Protocol, identifying the host and enabling routing, in IPv4 as a 32-bit address usually written in dotted decimal, and in IPv6, standardised in RFC 2460 of 1998 and RFC 8200 of 2017, as a 128-bit address written in hexadecimal; addresses may be static or dynamically assigned by DHCP, and private address ranges defined in RFC 1918 and IPv6 unique local addresses are used inside private and enterprise networks behind network address translation. The registry aliases private network and enterprise private network name networks rather than addresses. IP addresses can be personal data under laws such as the GDPR, and this model gives no guidance on tracking or attacking individuals.", "what_it_is_for": "Identifying and routing to devices on IP networks.", "affordances": [ "explain IPv4 and IPv6 formats", "relay allocation and private ranges", "describe named address types", "relay privacy considerations" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Hierarchical allocation", "IPv4 exhaustion", "Private and public ranges", "Personal data status" ], "appearance": "Not a physical object; strings such as dotted decimal or colon-separated hexadecimal numbers.", "visual_identification": [ "Network-layer address in IP networks", "Private network, enterprise private network, dynamic IP address, static IP address, IPv6 address, unique local address", "MAC addresses identify hardware on local links; domain names map to addresses; ports identify services; IP addresses give only approximate location" ], "physical_properties": [ { "quantity": "IPv4 address length", "typical_range": "32", "unit": "bits", "note": "about 4.3 billion addresses" }, { "quantity": "IPv6 address length", "typical_range": "128", "unit": "bits", "note": "" }, { "quantity": "RFC 1918 private ranges", "typical_range": "1996", "unit": "year", "note": "10/8, 172.16/12, 192.168/16" } ], "families_and_kinds": [ "IPv4 addresses", "IPv6 addresses", "static and dynamic addresses", "private and unique local addresses", "anycast and multicast addresses" ], "related_models": [ { "relation": "is a kind of", "target": "network address", "why": "in registry terms" }, { "relation": "is allocated by", "target": "Internet Assigned Numbers Authority", "why": "through regional registries" }, { "relation": "is contrasted with", "target": "MAC address", "why": "" }, { "relation": "is contrasted with", "target": "private network", "why": "network rather than address" } ], "identifiers": [], "standards_and_regulation": [ "IETF RFC 791, RFC 8200, RFC 1918, RFC 4193", "Regional Internet Registry policies", "GDPR treatment of IP addresses as personal data" ], "failure_modes_and_hazards": [ "Enabling tracking or harassment", "Overstating geolocation accuracy", "Exposing devices without firewalls" ], "in_scope": [], "out_of_scope": [], "characteristics": [] }, "sources": [], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "understand", "name": "Understand", "description": "What an IP address is.", "rationale": "Definition.", "layers": [ { "id": "definition", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "findings": [ { "id": "definition-finding", "name": "Definition", "description": "Definition.", "questions": [ { "text": "What is an IP address, and how does it differ from MAC addresses, domain names, ports and physical locations?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Is someone being threatened or harassed by a person claiming to know their IP address, in which case report to police or the platform?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "types", "name": "Types", "description": "Named types.", "findings": [ { "id": "types-finding", "name": "Types", "description": "Types.", "questions": [ { "text": "What are dynamic, static, IPv6 and unique local addresses, and why are private networks different?", "kind": "definition" }, { "text": "Which entry fits the specific type?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "technical", "name": "Technical", "description": "Formats and allocation.", "rationale": "Regulation.", "layers": [ { "id": "formats", "name": "Formats", "description": "IPv4 and IPv6.", "findings": [ { "id": "formats-finding", "name": "Formats", "description": "Formats.", "questions": [ { "text": "How are IPv4 and IPv6 addresses structured and written?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which references are standard?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] }, { "id": "allocation", "name": "Allocation", "description": "Allocation.", "findings": [ { "id": "allocation-finding", "name": "Allocation", "description": "Allocation.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do IANA and regional registries allocate addresses, and why did IPv4 run out?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which sources are cited?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "networks", "name": "Networks", "description": "Local networks.", "rationale": "Science.", "layers": [ { "id": "nat", "name": "NAT", "description": "Network address translation.", "findings": [ { "id": "nat-finding", "name": "NAT", "description": "NAT.", "questions": [ { "text": "How do private ranges and NAT let many devices share a public address?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits network address translation?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "dhcp", "name": "DHCP", "description": "Dynamic assignment.", "findings": [ { "id": "dhcp-finding", "name": "DHCP", "description": "DHCP.", "questions": [ { "text": "How does DHCP assign dynamic addresses?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "context", "name": "Context", "description": "Privacy.", "rationale": "Attribution.", "layers": [ { "id": "privacy", "name": "Privacy", "description": "Privacy.", "findings": [ { "id": "privacy-finding", "name": "Privacy", "description": "Privacy.", "questions": [ { "text": "Why do courts and regulators treat IP addresses as personal data in some contexts?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Is the presentation neutral and free of tracking guidance?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "geolocation", "name": "Geolocation", "description": "Geolocation limits.", "findings": [ { "id": "geolocation-finding", "name": "Geolocation", "description": "Geolocation.", "questions": [ { "text": "How accurate is IP geolocation, and why is it often wrong?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "text": "Which entry fits geolocation software?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "The registry aliases private network and enterprise private network should be moved to network entries", "Should IPv6 address be a separate entry?", "How should IETF RFCs be linked?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 4, "layers": 8, "findings": 8, "questions": 16 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "work, medium or creative form", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a IP address, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Let an agent explain IP addresses, relay formats, allocation, private ranges, DHCP, NAT and privacy from IETF, IANA and data protection sources, describe the named address types and flag network aliases, and distinguish IP addresses from MAC addresses, domain names, ports and physical locations, without enabling tracking or attacks.", "characteristics": { "substance": "information", "origin": "conceptual", "agency": "inert" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "read and interpreted", "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: private network, Enterprise private network, dynamic IP address, static IP address, IPv6 address, unique local address, reserved IP address, IPv4 address, public network, link-local address, virtual IP address.", "11 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 116 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a IP address, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "content that has to be carried by something else", "physicalCharacter": [ "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "read it and act on what it says", "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "What is seen is a copy or a performance, not the work. Recognising the work means recognising the content through whatever is carrying it." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "private network", "Enterprise private network", "dynamic IP address", "static IP address", "IPv6 address", "unique local address", "reserved IP address", "IPv4 address", "public network", "link-local address", "virtual IP address" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 116 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 11 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one IP address from another, and a IP address from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a IP address sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a IP address from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a IP address passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a IP address between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a IP address, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a IP address is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "content-and-access", "name": "Content, encoding and access", "description": "What a IP address says, how it is encoded and who may read it.", "rationale": "An informational thing carries content that can be copied, versioned and withheld, none of which its physical carrier explains.", "layers": [ { "id": "content-and-encoding", "name": "Content and encoding", "description": "The content itself, its format and its language.", "findings": [ { "id": "content-and-format", "name": "Content, format and language", "description": "What a IP address contains and in what form it is held.", "questions": [ { "id": "content-and-format-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the content of a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "content-and-format-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the content of a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "content-and-format-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the content of a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "access-and-rights", "name": "Access, rights and retention", "description": "Who may read, copy or change it, and for how long it is kept.", "findings": [ { "id": "access-rules", "name": "Access rules and retention", "description": "The permissions attached to a IP address and the period it survives.", "questions": [ { "id": "access-rules-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes access to a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "access-rules-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about access to a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "access-rules-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once access to a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "work-and-manifestation", "name": "Work, version and copy", "description": "Which level of IP address a statement is about.", "rationale": "The work, the edition, the file and the copy in hand are four things; rights and content attach to different ones.", "layers": [ { "id": "levels", "name": "Levels of the thing", "description": "Work, expression, manifestation and item, in plain terms.", "findings": [ { "id": "level-rules", "name": "What belongs at each level", "description": "Which facts hold for the work and which only for one copy.", "questions": [ { "id": "level-rules-q01", "text": "For IP address, which facts belong to the work itself, which to a version, and which to a single copy?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "level-rules-q02", "text": "What identifier exists at each level, and which one is being cited?", "kind": "definition" } ] } ] }, { "id": "versions", "name": "Versions, editions and variants", "description": "How versions differ and which is canonical to whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "version-record", "name": "Versions and canonicity", "description": "Differences that matter and who calls one authoritative.", "questions": [ { "id": "version-record-q01", "text": "Which versions or editions of IP address exist, and how do they differ substantively?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "version-record-q02", "text": "Who treats which version as authoritative, and for what purpose?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "authorship-and-rights", "name": "Authorship, rights and permitted use", "description": "Who made IP address and what may be done with it.", "rationale": "Rights are jurisdictional, time-limited and attached to a level, and an agent that ignores that will copy what it may not.", "layers": [ { "id": "authorship", "name": "Authorship and contribution", "description": "Who contributed what, and in what capacity.", "findings": [ { "id": "contribution-record", "name": "Contributors and roles", "description": "The people and bodies behind it, with their roles.", "questions": [ { "id": "contribution-record-q01", "text": "Who authored or contributed to IP address, in what roles, and how is that attested?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "id": "contribution-record-q02", "text": "Where authorship is disputed or anonymous, what is recorded instead?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "rights", "name": "Rights and permissions", "description": "Which rights subsist, where, until when, and what they permit.", "findings": [ { "id": "rights-record", "name": "Rights, term and permitted acts", "description": "The regime in force and what it allows.", "questions": [ { "id": "rights-record-q01", "text": "What rights subsist in IP address, in which jurisdictions, and until when?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "rights-record-q02", "text": "Which acts are permitted without further permission, and which must an agent refuse?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a IP address came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a IP address and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a IP address is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a IP address, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a IP address, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a IP address is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 12, "findings": 14, "questions": 38 } } } }