The Internet Protocol, or IP for short, is an essential part of the internet. It acts as a set of rules that allow computers to communicate with each other over the web. Without it, there would be no way for devices to send and receive data across networks.

IP works by assigning every device connected to a network its own unique address known as an IP address. This allows packets of data sent from one machine on the network to be routed correctly so they can arrive at their intended destination without getting lost along the way. Each packet contains information about where it came from and where it needs to go in order for successful communication between two machines on different networks or even within one local area network (LAN).

When using IP addresses, you must also use something called subnet masks which help identify which portion of an IP address belongs specifically towards routing purposes versus being used exclusively by applications running on top-level protocols like HTTP or FTP (file transfer protocol). Subnet masks are important because they make sure that all packets reach their proper destinations without any issues due to improper addressing or misdirection caused by incorrect subnets being applied during transmission attempts made across different networks around the world wide web today!