IP Address space types , features , uses , advantages and disadvantages

by Heba Soffar · Published June 5, 2017 · Updated August 2, 2019

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IP ( Internet Protocol ) addresses are the unique number codes that the computers connected to the
Internet to locate & communicate with one another , Two main types of IP addresses are static , where
the computer keeps a single IP address , and dynamic , where the network assigns the computer a new
address each time it connects to the network .

IP Address space

Home computers have two types of IP addresses , One is your external IP address that the world sees as
your Internet connection , Then you have your private IP addresses internally on your home network .

If you have one computer on your home network only, It will have the private IP given to it by the
router , Private IP addresses cannot be routed over the Internet and they are strictly for private use ,
Your external IP address can not be changed & It is given to you automatically by your Internet provider .

You can purchase the static external IP address , but they are expensive , If you do not need to access
your home network from the remote location , consider getting the dynamic address that will update
itself when your IP changes .

Computer networks can be either private or public , The private networks are formed by the computers
connected to each other but not to the external networks or the Internet , Each computer in the private
network occupies a private IP address space , So , No computer outside the network can find that
address or communicate with that computer .

Internet is full of huge content , but it contains its malicious applications & users , from Trojans & viruses
to the worms & the hackers , If the private network is not connected to the external networks or the
Internet at large , It is not exposed to these threats easily .

The private network is not vulnerable to technical difficulties outside the network if it is not being
connected to the external networks , The problems such as losses in Internet connectivity or the external
server outages do not affect the performance of the private network .

Static IP Address advantages

One of the biggest benefits of the static IP address is that the computers using this type of address can
host the servers containing data that the other computers access through the Internet , The static IP
address makes it easier for the computers to locate the server from anywhere in the world .

The computers which allow the remote access on the closed network work best with the static IP
addresses , This allows different types of computers running different operating systems to access the
host system & they search for the same IP address .

The static IP addresses are more stable for Internet use as they never change , In cases of the dynamic IP
address , the Internet service provider can automatically change the address on the regular basis , as
frequently as every few hours .

It can cause a lapse in the user’s connection , The computer may have trouble reconnecting to the
Internet using the new address & Using the static IP address avoids all of these potential problems .

Dynamic addresses require the program which assigns & changes IP addresses , & they may require the
users to change the settings on their computers but Static IP addresses are simpler to maintain & assign ,
The network administrators can track Internet traffic & assign access to certain users based on IP address
identification easily .

In static IP , the small interruption in the connection does not terminate the packet exchange with the
service , Because there is no change of IP address , It is suitable for the applications which use Voice over
Internet Protocol ( VOIP ) , gaming applications & Virtual Private Network ( VPN ) .
Every computer connected to the Internet has its own unique IP address , The static IP addresses is ideal
if your computer , It acts as a server because it gives your server faster file uploads & downloads , The IP
does not reset , Your computer do not need to send any request for renewal & It makes it an ideal choice
for seamless connectivity .

When you remotely connect to the computer you do not need to worry about the changes in the IP
address during the connected session , when you connect to your computer through the applications
such as remote desktop & you do not need to be bothered about losing the IP address .

IP Address

IP Address

Static IP Address disadvantages

Every static IP address is occupied by a single computer , As each computer needs the unique address ,
This limits the number of available IP addresses , It has led Internet service providers to create many
different IP standards to introduce more IP addresses into the system & making room for more
computers .

The computer that has static IP address is much easier to track through the Internet , This can be a
disadvantage in the case of the websites that allow each visitor to download or view a set amount of
content .

The only method to view or download the additional content may be to renew the IP address under the
dynamic IP address system , In the same way , The copyright enforcers can track the computer users who
download the content by tracking the IP address .

Static IPs need to be configured manually , You will need to make a few changes to your router
configuration , You need to keep track of the settings yourself , For home networks , this isn’t an issue
with only a few machines to worry about , but it is a quite problem for the companies .
Static IP Address causes a security risk because IP address is constant , It causes a greater chance of
hacking the website , You can not change the Static IP easily when it is hacked , So , your system will be
very susceptible to continuous attack .

It is imperative to put preventive measures in place before obtaining a static IP such as Internet security
suites & router firewalls , You can set the static IP manually & It is relatively complex , You need an
external software for this purpose and a lot of consumer level ISPs lack support for static IPs .

Static IPs are suitable for hosting the servers & the file transfer protocol sites & The cost of running a
server is exorbitant , It is complex to transfer the server settings from the static IP computer to a new
computer , You should invest in an easily upgradable computer to run a static IP server .

Dynamic IP Address advantages

There are two types of IP addresses which are Static IP & Dynamic IP , Dynamic IP address causes lower
security risk ( as your computer is assigned a new IP address each time you log on ) , It has lower cost as
compared to the static IP address and you do not have to do the network configuration .

Dynamic IP Address disadvantages

There are many security issues , DHCP automation can be security threat in case of a rogue DHCP server ,
This server is not in the control of the network personnel , If you connect to it , The information over that
connection can be intercepted & looked at , So , The network security & user privacy is violated .

If only a single DHCP server is in place , its failure causes the system great issue , In case of the server
failure , any connected computers that don’t have an IP address will try & fail to obtain one , The
computers which have an IP address before the server’s failure will try to renew it that will cause the
computer losing its IP address .

You should not use Dynamic IP addressing for VOIP , VPN , playing online games because Dynamic IP
addressing is less reliable than Static IP addressing and it can cause the service to disconnect while you
are on a VOIP , VPN or gaming .

What is the difference between public and private IP address?

A public IP address is an IP address that can be accessed over the Internet. Like postal address used to
deliver a postal mail to your home, a public IP address is the globally unique IP address assigned to a
computing device. Your public IP address can be found at What is my IP Address page. Private IP address,
on the other hand, is used to assign computers within your private space without letting them directly
expose to the Internet. For example, if you have multiple computers within your home you may want to
use private IP addresses to address each computer within your home. In this scenario, your router gets
the public IP address, and each of the computers, tablets and smartphones connected to your router (via
wired or wifi) gets a private IP address from your router via DHCP protocol.

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the organization responsible for registering IP address
ranges to organizations and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). To allow organizations to freely assign
private IP addresses, the Network Information Center (InterNIC) has reserved certain address blocks for
private use. The following IP blocks are reserved for private IP addresses.

Class Starting IP Address Ending IP Address # of Hosts

A 10.0.0.0 10.255.255.255 16,777,216

B 172.16.0.0 172.31.255.255 1,048,576

C 192.168.0.0 192.168.255.255 65,536

What is public IP address?

A public IP address is the address that is assigned to a computing device to allow direct access over the
Internet. A web server, email server and any server device directly accessible from the Internet are
candidate for a public IP address. A public IP address is globally unique, and can only be assigned to a
unique device.

What is private IP address?

A private IP address is the address space allocated by InterNIC to allow organizations to create their own
private network. There are three IP blocks (1 class A, 1 class B and 1 class C) reserved for a private use.
The computers, tablets and smartphones sitting behind your home, and the personal computers within
an organizations are usually assigned private IP addresses. A network printer residing in your home is
assigned a private address so that only your family can print to your local printer.
When a computer is assigned a private IP address, the local devices see this computer via it's private IP
address. However, the devices residing outside of your local network cannot directly communicate via
the private IP address, but uses your router's public IP address to communicate. To allow direct access to
a local device which is assigned a private IP address, a Network Address Translator (NAT) should be used.

What Is My IP?

Your public IP address is an external facing IP Address that's provided by your Internet Service Provider
(ISP). A Pubic IP Address is accessible by anyone on the Internet. Internal IP's are known as Private IP's,
which are dedicated to the devices connected to your internal network router, such as laptops, desktops,
printers, cell phones, smart TV, etc.

Knowing what your external facing IP address is critical for opening ports used for gaming, running an
email or web server, or setting up a remote connection.

What is an IP Address?

IP Address stands for Internet Protocol Address and all devices on the network have an IP Address
assigned to it. So, what is my ip address? An IP address is made up of 4 numbers in the following format:
aaa.bbb.ccc.ddd. Each number can be in the range of 0-255. An IP address is defined as "a numerical
label assigned to each devices (e.g., computer, printer) participating in a computer network that uses
Internet Protocol for communication". When computers communicate with each other over the Internet
or via a local network, the information sharing is done through IP addresses. Like physical addresses,
they offer a location to send information to.

Types of IP Addresses

IP addresses can be categorized as private and public addresses. Private IP addresses cannot be reached
via the Internet, whereas public IP addresses can. For instance, most home networks have a router. This
router will have a public IP address that is accessible through the Internet. Devices that are behind the
router such as your laptop, gaming consoles and smartphones have private IP addresses that are unique
and registered on the home network.

In this case, the router acts like an intermediary that offers a path to the information pouring in through
its public IP address. Basically, all the devices that are connected to the router are communicating with
other IP addresses over the Internet from a single IP address, i.e. your router's public IP address.

There are 2 types of IP addresses - IPv4 and IPv6. Currently most devices today are on IPv4. Internet
Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth generation of IP addressing technology. Internet Protocol Version 6
(IPv6) has been setup for future growth and is currently the latest version of IP Addressing technology
which has been developed. Eventually all devices will be moved to IPv6, but until that happens, the IP
address provided here, will be IPv4.

Who uses public IP addresses?

Internet web servers, DNS servers, network routers as well as directly connected computers use public IP
address. The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is responsible for assigning a range of
addresses to organizations like the ISP (Internet Service Providers), because they own these IP ranges. In
turn, the ISPs assign individual public IP addresses to their customers.