Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is an internetwork protocol that is active at the internet layer according to the TCP/IP model, it was developed in 1981 within a project managed by Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. In the following years, the use of IPv4 grew to dominate data networks around the world, becoming the backbone of the modern Internet. In this survey, we highlight the operation of the protocol, explain its header structure, and show how it provides the following functions: Quality of service control, host addressing, data packet fragmentation and reassembly, connection multiplexing, and source routing. Furthermore, we handle both address-related and fragmentation-related implementation problems, focusing on the IPv4 address space exhaustion and explaining the short and long terms proposed solutions. Finally, this survey highlights several auxiliary protocols that provide solutions to IPV, namely address resolution, error reporting, multicast management, and security
