Explain the difference between a network IP address and a network prefix.

What will be an ideal response?

An IP address is a 32-bit number written in dotted decimal notation: four 8-bit fields (octets)

converted from binary to decimal numbers, separated by dots. The first part of an IP address identifies the
network on which the host resides, while the second part identifies the particular host on the given
network. The network number field is called the network prefix. A complete IP address includes both the
network prefix and host address, the network prefix is used for IP routing, routers can use the network
prefix to route datagram’s correctly to the corresponding network, the host address on the other hand
enables the specific host to receive the datagram after it has been routed to the local subnet. IP address
uniquely identify a particular host (ignore NAT) on the internet. Network prefix, is the identification for a particular network, it uniquely identifies a network and is being used by the IP routers to route datagrams correctly to a particular network. All hosts on a given network share the same network prefix but must have a unique host number. In classful IP, the class of the address determines the boundary between the network prefix and the host number.