What is an IP Address?
Learn what an IP Address is and how they are used in communication in the internet.
Basics of IP Addresses: What is an IP Address?
IP Addresses (or Internet Protocol Addresses) are used for communication between different Internet devices or local networks. Those devices include servers as well as computers, smartphones, and more. Devices with IP Addresses can send and receive data from other devices with IP Addresses in the same network.
What is a Public IP Address?
Public IP Addresses can be reached from the internet. Therefore all public internet services like websites, mailservers, DNS Servers etc. have to use a public IP Address so they can be accessed and used.
What is a Private IP Address?
Private IP Addresses (sometimes called local IP Addresses) are used in private networks, like your network at home. There are special IP Ranges that should be used for private IP Addresses so they do not conflict with the public IP addresses. For IPv4 there are 17.891.328 reserved private IP addresses. Their IP ranges are:
- 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
- 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
- 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255