Website hosting servers, like all devices connected to the Internet, have an IP (Internet Protocol) address. This address acts as a unique identifier for the server in the vast world of the Internet. Here’s a brief breakdown of what an IP address consists of:
- Types of IP Addresses:
- IPv4: This is the most common version of IP addresses. An IPv4 address is 32 bits long and is usually represented in decimal format. It’s broken down into four sets of numbers ranging from 0 to 255, separated by periods (e.g., 192.168.1.1).
- IPv6: This is a newer version of the IP address, introduced to address the depletion of IPv4 addresses. IPv6 is 128 bits long and is represented in hexadecimal format. It consists of eight groups of four characters separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).
- Public vs. Private IP Addresses:
- Public IP Address: This is the IP address that’s visible to the external world. If a website server is accessible from the Internet, it has a public IP address. When someone types the domain name of a website in their browser, it’s this public IP address they are directed to.
- Private IP Address: These are used within private networks, like a home or corporate LAN (Local Area Network). They are not routable on the global Internet. Common private IP address ranges for IPv4 include 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255, 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255, and 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255.
- Static vs. Dynamic IP Addresses:
- Static IP Address: This type of IP address doesn’t change. Many web hosting servers use static IP addresses so that the location (IP address) of the website remains constant.
- Dynamic IP Address: This IP address can change. For instance, home Internet connections often use dynamic IPs that may change over time or after restarting the router.
A website hosting server will typically have a static, public IP address if it’s intended to be accessed from the broader Internet. However, in some configurations (e.g., behind a reverse proxy), the server might have a private IP, with the proxy server having the public IP.
It’s worth noting that while a server has a unique IP address, it’s possible for a single server to host multiple websites using a mechanism known as virtual hosting. In such scenarios, the domain name provided in the web request (the URL) helps the server identify which website’s content to serve to the user.
