Converting IP To Numeric

When looking up a Geo IP, you will need to convert the IP address to numeric value.  Below shows the formula for the transformation in both directions.

Given IP address is: w.x.y.z

Numeric:

256^3(w) + 256^2(x) + 256(y) + z

or

16777216(w) + 65536(x) + 256(y) + z

IP:

w = (int)( IP Number / 16777216 ) % 256 
x = (int)( IP Number / 65536 ) % 256 
y = (int)( IP Number / 256 ) % 256 
z = (int)( IP Number ) % 256

Doing this in .NET would yield the following code:

public static uint? IPToNumeric(string address)
{
    string[] splits = address.Split('.');
    if (splits.Length == 4)
    {
        try
        {
            return
                16777216 * uint.Parse(splits[0]) +
                65536 * uint.Parse(splits[1]) +
                256 * uint.Parse(splits[2]) +
                uint.Parse(splits[3]);
        }
        catch { }
    }
    return null;
}

public static string NumericToIP(uint numeric)
{
    try
    {
        return string.Format("{0}.{1}.{2}.{3}",
            (uint)(numeric / 16777216) % 256,
            (uint)(numeric / 65536) % 256,
            (uint)(numeric / 256) % 256,
            numeric % 256);
    }
    catch { }
    return null;
}