Variable-data may be as simple as an address block or salutation.

They will simply make use of any connectivity that's available and automatically advertise address blocks within the local network.

It contains one entry for each address block assigned to it.

These so-called "self-assigned" addresses are taken from a special address block reserved for this purpose: 169.254/16.

When the address block was reserved, no standards existed for address autoconfiguration.

Unsurprisingly, routers keep a list of which address block needs to be sent where; it's called the routing table.

In the early days of the Internet, some organizations got excessively large address blocks.

The smallest address block, with the largest number after the slash, takes precedence.

IPv6 uses the address block with the prefix for multicast applications.

Why is it necessary to standardize address blocks, formerly known as addresses ?