What is it?
Understanding IP Addresses can be a bit confusing at first. Think of an IP Address as belonging to one of two families; Public IP Addresses & Private IP Addresses. Regardless of whether the IP Address is Public or Private, it can be assigned either dynamically or statically.

How Does It Work?

Most IP Addresses are assigned to devices dynamically, that is to say an IP Address is assigned when needed. This process is facilitated by something called Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol commonly called DHCP. With DHCP a device could be given a different IP address each time it connects to the network.

A Static IP Address is an IP Address that is assigned manually. Static Addresses are most commonly requested and used in situations where you do not want the IP Address to change under any circumstances. This is generally needed when operating a server. There are many types of servers such as Web Servers, Mail Servers, FTP Servers, & Chat Servers to name a few.

A Public IP Address is a globally unique number that identifies a device on the TCP/IP network commonly called the Internet. To connect to another device (usually a server) over the Internet, you must have a Public IP Address to which that device will respond. The term Public IP Address is also referred to as a Global IP Address or External IP Address.

A Private IP Address is generally assigned to devices on a Local Area Network (LAN). A Local Area Network is the type of network you would expect to see in an office or even in a home network. Private IP Addresses are not directly accessible from outside devices via the Internet. Devices such as routers can share a Public IP Address with a multitude of devices having private IP Addresses on the Local Area Network. The term Private IP Address is also referred to as a Local IP Address or Internal IP Address.

What is Related?
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