In the world of computer networking, the name localhost carries a special meaning when used with 127.0.0.1. In the hacker stories available on the internet, professional hackers are shown to succeed in hacking or deleting information from one’s own system using the 127.0.0.1 address to amuse the audience. Loopback address also has other lighter uses like tricking the computer security and computer students to test, crack or probe network speed with the use of 127.0.0.1 address. Application developers use this loopback address to test network functionality when they develop an application component before it goes ‘live’ on the internet or network. According to the test results, administrators can troubleshoot connectivity problems. One of the popular methods to verify whether a computer’s operating system, networking equipment, and TCP/IP implementation work properly is to send a ping request to 127.0.0.1. Applications use this port number to divide the message into categories. Loopback messages consist of a destination port number apart from the address. Messages intended for 127.0.0.1 address do not go outside the local area network but are delivered straight to the TCP/IP and get queues as if they came from an external source. This ensures that no malicious network traffic is disguised as coming from a loopback address by network attackers.Īpplication developers and system administrators generally use this 127.0.0.1 address to test applications. To enhance the network security, TCP/IP also checks the incoming messages on routers and gateways to discard any containing the loopback IP address. As the protocol checks the message before forwarding it to the physical network, it automatically re-routes the messages with the destination specified as 127.0.0.1 back to the receiving end of the stack. The TCP/IP protocol, when it receives the message generated by the application, recognizes the IP address 127.0.0.1 as a special one. How 127.0.0.1 Works?Įstablishing a connection to the 127.0.0.1 loopback address is done in the same manner as with any remote computer or network device. For example, a server running on a system can point to 127.0.0.1 to be able to run the pages locally and test before being deployed. This is different from a regular IP address which helps transfer files between networked devices. This localhost address is used by the computer you are on and only for special purposes. This address essentially means ‘this machine’ or the computer you are currently working on. But, it also has this special address 127.0.0.1 attached to it. This address is used by all the computers as their own but it cannot be used to communicate with other devices like a real IP address.Ī computer might have a private IP address assigned to it to let it communicate with the router and other devices in the network. Known as localhost or loopback Internet Protocol (IP) address, 127.0.0.1 is used to make an IP connection to the computer or machine used by the end-user, which is the same system. Let us understand this IP address in detail and see its importance. This IP address is assigned to the local system and is not accessible by other systems. Today, we talk about a special-purpose IPv4 address, 127.0.0.1 which seems a little confusing. ![]() There are numerous types of IP addresses in computer networks. IP Addresses provide a way to specify hosts in different ways. 127.0.0.1 IP Address Explained - What It Is & Why It's Important Posted Sept.
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