Static ip what does it mean

Term of the Day. Best of Techopedia weekly. News and Special Offers occasional. Static Internet Protocol Address. Static IP address advantages include: Lower costs Email server hosting capabilities Easy maintenance Ideal for online gaming Static IP addresses are particularly useful for events such as hosting a website.

Static IP addresses do have their drawbacks, though. Share this Term. Tech moves fast! The following are some of the benefits of having a static IP address:.

Ready to reap the benefits of having a static IP address for your business? Visit ftc. Skip to content Simply put, a static IP address can be thought of as a non-changing internet address for a business. Dynamic vs. First, find the Pi's current IP address using the ip r grep default command and make note of it. Then, edit the dhcpcd. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

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Updated on September 17, Michael Barton Heine Jr. Lifewire Technology Review Board Member. Article reviewed on May 09, Tweet Share Email. In This Article. Static vs. In essence, IP addresses are the identifier that allows information to be sent between devices on a network: they contain location information and make devices accessible for communication. The internet needs a way to differentiate between different computers, routers, and websites.

IP addresses provide a way of doing so and form an essential part of how the internet works. An IP address is a string of numbers separated by periods. IP addresses are expressed as a set of four numbers — an example address might be Each number in the set can range from 0 to So, the full IP addressing range goes from 0. IP addresses are not random. ICANN is a non-profit organization that was established in the United States in to help maintain the security of the internet and allow it to be usable by all.

Each time anyone registers a domain on the internet, they go through a domain name registrar, who pays a small fee to ICANN to register the domain.

If you want to understand why a particular device is not connecting in the way you would expect or you want to troubleshoot why your network may not be working, it helps understand how IP addresses work. Internet Protocol works the same way as any other language, by communicating using set guidelines to pass information.

All devices find, send, and exchange information with other connected devices using this protocol. By speaking the same language, any computer in any location can talk to one another.

The use of IP addresses typically happens behind the scenes. The process works like this:. As the process implies, there are different types of IP addresses, which we explore below.

There are different categories of IP addresses, and within each category, different types. Every individual or business with an internet service plan will have two types of IP addresses: their private IP addresses and their public IP address.

The terms public and private relate to the network location — that is, a private IP address is used inside a network, while a public one is used outside a network. Every device that connects to your internet network has a private IP address. This includes computers, smartphones, and tablets but also any Bluetooth-enabled devices like speakers, printers, or smart TVs.

With the growing internet of things , the number of private IP addresses you have at home is probably growing. Your router needs a way to identify these items separately, and many items need a way to recognize each other.

Therefore, your router generates private IP addresses that are unique identifiers for each device that differentiate them on the network. A public IP address is the primary address associated with your whole network. While each connected device has its own IP address, they are also included within the main IP address for your network. Your public IP address is the address that all the devices outside your internet network will use to recognize your network. Dynamic IP addresses change automatically and regularly.

ISPs buy a large pool of IP addresses and assign them automatically to their customers. Periodically, they re-assign them and put the older IP addresses back into the pool to be used for other customers.

The rationale for this approach is to generate cost savings for the ISP. There are security benefits, too, because a changing IP address makes it harder for criminals to hack into your network interface.

In contrast to dynamic IP addresses, static addresses remain consistent. Once the network assigns an IP address, it remains the same. Most individuals and businesses do not need a static IP address, but for businesses that plan to host their own server, it is crucial to have one.

This is because a static IP address ensures that websites and email addresses tied to it will have a consistent IP address — vital if you want other devices to be able to find them consistently on the web.

This leads to the next point — which is the two types of website IP addresses. These are shared and dedicated. Websites that rely on shared hosting plans from web hosting providers will typically be one of many websites hosted on the same server.

This tends to be the case for individual websites or SME websites, where traffic volumes are manageable, and the sites themselves are limited in terms of the number of pages, etc.