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What’s an IP Address and How Do I Find Mine?
January 08, 2020
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Whenever you want to browse the web or send an email, your computer needs to exchange information with a web server or with another computer. But how exactly do computers and servers locate one another when there are more than 7 billion devices sharing the internet?
\n\nThe short answer: computers find one another by searching for each other’s IP address\n\n
\n\nWhat’s an IP address?
\nThink of an IP address like a mailing address:
\n\n[ADD A MAILBOX THAT HAS THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS: 1501 Page Mill Rd, Palo Alto, CA]
\n\nAn IP address (which stands for “Internet Protocol address”) identifies the computer so other devices on the internet can find it and share information with it
\n\nEvery computer has a unique IP address
\n\nWhat’s IPv4?
\nThe most common type of IP address is IP Version 4 (IPv4). An IPv4 address consists of 4 numbers separated by dots:
\n\n192.23.57.125
\n\nEach of those 4 numbers is represented by 8 binary digits (also known as an octet). Binary is a language that consists of alternating 0s and 1s:
\n\n192: 11000000
\n\n23: 00010111
\n\n57: 00111001
\n\n125: 01111101
\n\nIn binary code, that IP address would look like:\n\n
\n\n11000000.00010111.00111001.01111101
\n\nBinary numbers can only go as high as 255, which is the maximum number in 8-digit binary: 11111111
\n\nMeet IPv6
\nAs more and more computers were connected to the internet, there were concerns that there wouldn’t be enough IP addresses for every device! That’s why IPv6 was invented
\n\nIPv6 uses:
\n\n- \n
- Numbers 1-9 \n
- Letters A, B, C, D, E, F \n
It also doubles the length of an IPv4 address
\n\nIPv6 has more possible IP combinations than IPv4. Rest assured there won’t be an IP Address shortage anytime soon
\n\nIPv6 is slowly being adopted by tech companies worldwide. As of 2019, nearly 30% of Google users connect to the site with an IPv6 address [1]. But IPv4 is still expected to be in use for years to come.
\n\nHow does your computer get its IP address?
\nYour computer’s IP address is assigned by a program called the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Usually, the DHCP is built into your network router\n\n
\n\nWhen your computer connects to a network:
\n\n- \n
- Your computer sends off a message requesting an IP address from a DHCP \n
- The DHCP issues an IP address to your computer that doesn’t match other IP addresses on the network \n
IP addresses have an expiration date. When your IP address expires, your computer will request a new one from the DHCP
\nBreaking down an IP address
\nA mailing address gives you several different kinds of identifiers:
\n\n1501: Building number
\n\nPage Mill Rd: Street name
\n\nPalo Alto: City name
\n\nCA: State name
\n\nAn IP address can be broken down in the same way. There are 2 separate parts of an IP address: the Network ID and the Host ID
\n\n- \n
- Network ID: Identifies the network you’re connected to \n
- Host ID: Identifies your computer \n
192.23.57.125
\n\nRed: Network ID
\n\nBlack: Host ID
\nHow do computers use IP addresses to find one another?
\nLet’s say that you’re trying to visit a website on your web browser. First, you connect your computer to the internet:
\n\n- \n
- Your computer is given an IP address by your internet service provider (ISP) \n
- You enter the website name in the address bar in your browser - your computer sends a request for the website’s data \n
- Your data request first goes to a domain name server (DNS), which is also provided by your ISP \n
- The DNS translates the website name into an IP address {Store.HP.com