What is an IP address and........

[newbie]

Can someone please tell me what a static IP address is and where I can find it on my computer. Thanks

[vehelpfulguy]

Bit of background

The internet is run on a system called TCP/IP.

Every computer connected to the internet has an IP address in the format 111.222.333.444.

Think of it a bit like a phone number, when you dial a phone number it knows where to route the call.

Well with an IP address if you want to connect to a computer it routes it to the correct IP address.

Many computers that connect to the interent are given a temporary IP address by their ISP (internet service provider).

So one day you may be 111.222.333.444, the next day 111.222.333.555.

A static IP address is where you specify an IP address and you stay with that address every time you connect to your ISP.

Unless you have changed it then I doubt whether you have a static IP address, most of us have a temporary IP address.

More to follow...

[vehelpfulguy]

There are a number of ways to find out your IP address.

One way is:

Open a "command prompt" window

Type ipconfig /all

This displays all sorts of info about your networking, including your ip address

Mine showed (changed slightly for security reasons)

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 99.185.32.165

[vehelpfulguy]

In fact when you put the name of a web site in your browser it actually converts it to a IP address to find the right computer.

To show this do as follows:

Open a command prompt window and use the "ping" command (ping is a way of finding out if a computer is there)

Type ping www.google.co.uk

It shows

Z:\>ping www.google.co.uk

Pinging www.l.google.com [216.239.59.103] with 32 bytes of data:

So the IP address for google.co.uk is 216.239.59.103 (this will be a static IP address)

Now go to your browser and type 216.239.59.103 and you see that the google.co.uk page opens

[rojash]

Just to add to VHGs comprehensive reply:
You only need a static IP address if you need to contact your computer from somewhere else on the internet - for example if you are running a web server, or if you want to connect to it from another location using PcAnywhere, or other remote control software.
You can purchase a static IP address from your ISP.

[Tejaa]

A static IP address is a number (in the form of a dotted quad) that is assigned to a computer by an Internet service provider (ISP) to be its permanent address on the Internet.
In order to find the IP address make use of this site http://www.ip-details.com/ip-search/
However you will not be able to find ip for mobile broadbands. And you can also check your BB speed here http://www.ip-details.com/internet-speed-test/ .
Cheers!