In the Internet Protocol version 4 the address 0.0.0.0 is a non-routable meta-address used to designate an invalid, unknown or non applicable target. To give a special meaning to an otherwise invalid piece of data is an application of in-band signaling. Uses include: The address a host claims as its own when it has not yet been assigned an address. Such as when sending the initial DHCPDISCOVER packet when using DHCP. The address a host assigns to itself when address request via DHCP has failed. This usage has been replaced with the APIPA mechanism in modern operating systems. A way to specify "any IPv4-host at all". It is used in this way when specifying a default route. A way to explicitly specify that the target is unavailable.[1] A way to specify "any IPv4-interface at all". It is used in this way when configuring servers (i.e. when binding listening sockets). This is known to TCP programmers as INADDR_ANY. In IPv6, the all-zeros-address is written as "::"