This description is taken from pages 11 to 15 of RFC 791, Internet Protocol.
Internet Header Format 0 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ |Version| IHL |Type of Service| Total Length | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Identification |Flags| Fragment Offset | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Time to Live | Protocol | Header Checksum | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Source Address | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Destination Address | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ | Options | Padding | +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ Version: 4 bits The Version field indicates the format of the internet header. This document describes version 4. IHL: 4 bits Internet Header Length is the length of the internet header in 32 bit words. The minimum value for a correct header is 5. Type of Service: 8 bits The Type of Service indication the quality of service desired. The meaning of the bits is explained below. Bits 0-2: Precedence. Bit 3: 0 = Normal Delay, 1 = Low Delay. Bits 4: 0 = Normal Throughput, 1 = High Throughput. Bits 5: 0 = Normal Reliability 1 = High Reliability. Bit 6-7: Reserved for Future Use. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ | | | | | | | | PRECEDENCE | D | T | R | 0 | 0 | | | | | | | | +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+ Precedence 111 - Network Control 110 - Internetwork Control 101 - CRITIC/ECP 100 - Flash Override 011 - Flash 010 - Immediate 001 - Priority 000 - Routine Total Length: 16 bits Total Length is the length of the datagram, measured in octets (bytes), including internet header and data. Identification: 16 bits An identifying value assigned by the sender to aid in assembling the fragments of a datagram. Flags: 3 bits Various Control Flags. The Flag bits are explained below: Bit 0: reserved, must be zero Bit 1: (DF) 0 = May Fragment, 1 = Don't Fragment. Bit 2: (MF) 0 = Last Fragment, 1 = More Fragments. 0 1 2 +---+---+---+ | | D | M | | 0 | F | F | +---+---+---+ Fragment Offset: 13 bits This field indicates where in the datagram this fragment belongs. The fragment offset is measured in units of 8 octets (64 bits). The first fragment has offset zero. Time to Live: 8 bits This field indicates the maximum time the datagram is allowed to remain in the internet system. Protocol: 8 bits This field indicates the Transport Layer protocol that the data portion of this datagram is passed to. The values for various protocols are specified in the "Assigned Numbers" RFC. Header Checksum: 16 bits A checksum on the header only. Since some header fields change (e.g., time to live), this is recomputed and verified at each point that the internet header is processed. The checksum algorithm is: The checksum field is the 16 bit one's complement of the one's complement sum of all 16 bit words in the header. For purposes of computing the checksum, the value of the checksum field is zero. Source Address: 32 bits The source IP address. See Chapter 2 for a description of IP addresses. Destination Address: 32 bits The destination IP address. See Chapter 2 for a description of IP addresses. Options: variable The options may or may not appear in datagrams, but they must be implemented by all IP modules (host and gateways). No options were used in any of the datagrams examined in Chapter 13.