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<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
type="topic" style="question"
id="net-what-is-ip-address">
<info>
<link type="guide" xref="net-general"/>
<credit type="author">
<name>Jim Campbell</name>
<email>jwcampbell@gmail.com</email>
</credit>
<desc>An IP Address is like a phone number for your computer.</desc>
<include href="legal.xml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude"/>
</info>
<title>What is an IP address?</title>
<p>"IP address" stands for <em>Internet Protocol address</em>, and each device that is connected to a network (such as the internet) has one.</p>
<p>An IP address is similar to your phone number. Your phone number is a unique set of numbers that identifies your phone so that other people can call you. Similarly, an IP address is a unique set of numbers that identifies your computer so that it can send and receive data with other computers.</p>
<p>Currently, most IP addresses consist of four sets of numbers, each separated by a period. <code>192.168.1.42</code> is an example of an IP address.</p>
<note style="tip"><p>An IP address can either be <em>dynamic</em> or <em>static</em>. Dynamic IP addresses are temporarily assigned each time your computer connects to a network. Static IP addresses are fixed, and do not change. Dynamic IP addresses are more common that static addresses - static addresses are typically only used when there is a special need for them, such as administering a server.</p></note>
</page>
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