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Static and Shared IP Addresses
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In many web hosting circles you may have heard the words static IP address and shared IP address being used quite a bit. It goes without saying that there is a difference between the two but also the definitions are quite self-explanatory.

So to begin, lets first define what an IP address is. The IP in IP address is short for Internet Protocol. The Internet Protocol address is a set of numbers ranging from 0 to 255 separated by periods. To give an example of what an IP address would look like, here is one that is not in use 64.191.45.32. This set of numbers is the actually address for web sites and not the domain name like www.somewhere.com we are used to typing in our web browser. The reason for this is that people remember words better than numbers but computers work with numbers. So there is a happy medium where we get to enter words and then the computer finds the IP address associated with that domain name.

Every web site on the Web has an IP address. Some may even have the same IP address, which is known as a shared IP address. How that is possible and not get web sites mixed up is the job of the web server. The server that the site is on will actually have the IP address. So all the sites on the server will be the same address. The server then directs the visitor to the appropriate web site based on what they typed in their web browser. Here is an example. Lets say www.widget.com and www.widgetexpress.com are on the same web server. Since they are on the same server they will more than likely have the same IP address. Then someone types in www.widget.com in his or her web browser. www.widget.com is translated to its IP address and is found on the server holding that IP address. Finally, the web browser is then directed toward the correct web site.

Static IP addresses are addresses that dont change and are in use by only one web site.

If every web site out there were to have its own IP address, there is the possibility that eventually all the number will be used up and no more addresses would be available. That is why sharing is still the norm. But there are cases where static IP addresses are needed. The primary reason to have a static IP address is for SSL encryption. SSL encryption is only available through a static IP. Another reason for static IPs is for anonymous FTP transfers. There are not too many other reasons people should have static IP addresses.

The majority of web sites today will be using shared IP addresses and will not be a major issue. Once you decide to do e-commerce, then the need for a static IP address will be necessary. Either way, just know that we all need IP addresses and, for now, there are plenty to go around.
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Static and Shared IP Addresses

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