In a world where everything is done online, connected by phones, computers and other electronic devices, it’s easy to take for granted the intricacies and mechanisms that make everything work. One of the most basic such mechanisms is the IP address.
Simply put, an IP address – where IP stands for Internet Protocol – is a numerical designation assigned to any device connected to the Internet. It is integral to addressing the location and identifying the network interface.
Without an address associated with an IP, any task from booking a flight to checking email or Twitter would be impossible. An IP address tells servers or the government where a computer is connected to the Internet. People often ask what is my ip? This guide will answer the question.
What is my IP?
In most common everyday cases, you don’t really have one. That’s because most IP addresses are what’s called a dynamic IP address, assigned by Internet servers or network routers when devices connect to them, and assigned based on geographic location and Internet provider regulations.
As such, IP addresses change with location changes, when switching between different WiFi routers, or even when you turn your Internet connection off and on again. This avoids complications when multiple devices share a limited network address space, especially when only a few would be online at any given time. This is the most common way to assign IP addresses. There are situations in which the capabilities and characteristics of a dynamic IP address are not sufficient. Then a static IP address is necessary.
What is a static IP address?
As the name suggests, a static IP address always remains fixed. A device or server assigned a static IP address retains that identification number until a network change occurs.
Static IP addresses are most often used by servers or other network equipment where ease of identification and communication are most important. Many large companies also use static IP addresses because they provide advanced geolocation services, more affordable server hosting, more reliable communications, and convenient remote access capabilities.
IPv4 vs. IPv6
The two primary Internet protocols currently in use are IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 was the first major Internet protocol used and was actually developed for SATNET and ARPANET, two predecessors of the Internet. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address space, which indicates 4,294,967,296 possible IP addresses.
The United States alone now accounts for more than a third of these addresses. Although still in use today, the massive proliferation of Internet users meant that new Internet protocols were created long before the IPv4 designation was in danger of disappearing.
IPv6 is the latest communications protocol designed to address the long-awaited exhaustion of IPv4 addresses. It uses a 128-bit address, which creates about 3.4 × 10³⁸ or 340 billion billion billion possible IP addresses. Other advantages of IPv6 over IPv4 are its ability to enable route aggregation, reduce routing table expansion, and provide additional optimization for service delivery.
The two protocols are incompatible, so communication between them is impossible. Some websites allow you to check your IP address and perform a speed test on your internet devices.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn