What is an IP Address?
The short answer: it is a series of numbers that uniquely identifies your device on the Internet. It is like a phone number in that it represents a unique path to that particular object, whether it be a phone, computer or Internet device. There are 2 distinct types of IP address: Static (dedicated) and Dynamic.
A Static IP address is assigned to a particular computer or device and that device has a permanent IP address.
A Dynamic IP address are not permanent and can change. Most Internet users connect to the Internet via dynamic IP addressing via their ISP (Internet service provider). When a device (computer) connects to the Internet and is configured for dynamic (automatic) IP addressing, it requests an address from the Host Provider and the Host Provider determines a available IP address and temporarily assigns it to the device. If that device is disconnected from the Internet for a while (typically more than 1 day), it will lose the IP address and the Host Provide will assign a new address next time the device connects. Basically, the Host leases the address to that device.
The format of the IP address is a set of 4 numbers (0 to 255) separated with a dot ‘.’, for example: 74.125.155.103
The IP-4 addressing system can handle a lot of devices, but the world is running out of IP addresses. The new IPv-6 standard is currently being implemented and computers / devices are being designed to work with both systems as the world progress to this newer system with much more capacity.
