What is the length of an IP address in bytes (Pre-IPv6)?

Concept: An IP address's length depends on which addressing scheme is in use. Before IPv6 was introduced, IPv4 was the standard, and every IPv4 address is a fixed-length 32-bit value. Since 1 byte = 8 bits, the byte length of an address is its bit length divided by 8.

1. The addressing scheme used before IPv6 is IPv4.

2. An IPv4 address is 32 bits long.

3. Convert bits to bytes: 32 bits / 8 bits-per-byte = 4 bytes.

Cross-check: multiplying back confirms it — 4 bytes x 8 bits-per-byte = 32 bits, matching the IPv4 standard. This is distinct from IPv6, which uses a much longer 128-bit (16-byte) address, so the two should not be confused; the question specifically asks about the pre-IPv6 (i.e., IPv4) scheme.