An
IP address is an address (a binary number) assigned to devices on a
computer network. This allows one device to communicate with another via
the Internet. IP addresses allow all that are connected to the Internet
to be differentiated from other devices. The two main functions of an
IP address are (1) host and interface identification and (2) location
addressing. IP stands for Internet Protocol. Protocols are a set of
rules that allows communication and data passing between devices. The
Internet Protocol governs internet activities that take place over the
World Wide Web. Currently, there are two versions of IP addresses in use
today, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version
6 (IPv6).
Devices on a computer network can have either a Dynamic IP Address or a Static IP Address:
"Dynamic IP Addresses: are temporary and are assigned each time a computer accesses the Internet. They are, in effect, borrowed from a pool of IP addresses that are shared among various computers. Since a limited number of static IP addresses are available, many ISPs reserve a portion of their assigned addresses for sharing among their subscribers in this way. This lowers costs and allows them to service far more subscribers than they otherwise could.
Static IP Addresses are generally preferable for such uses as VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), online gaming, or any other purpose where users need to make it easy for other computers to locate and connect to them. Easy access can also be facilitated when using a dynamic IP address through the use of a dynamic DNS service, which enables other computers to find you even though you may be using a temporary, one-time IP address. This often entails an extra charge, however, so check with your ISP." - Referenced from http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip-address
IPv4
The original version of IP Addressing used is IPv4. IPv4 addresses are 32 bits in size, therefore there can be 4,294,967,296 (232) unique IPv4 addresses. IPv4 addresses are represented by four decimal numbers, each ranging from 0-255 separated by dots (example – 192.168.123.233).IPv6
Due to the enormous growth of the internet, IPv4 address space was exhausted, this resulted in the next generation of Internet Protocol, IPv6. The size of an IPv6 address is 128 bits, meaning this new address space provides 2^128 unique (approximately 340 trillion trillion trillion) IP addresses. An IPv6 address is represented by four hexadecimal numbers, each ranging from 0000-FFFF separated by colons (example – 03EF:BBBB:EF49:00F1).Devices on a computer network can have either a Dynamic IP Address or a Static IP Address:
"Dynamic IP Addresses: are temporary and are assigned each time a computer accesses the Internet. They are, in effect, borrowed from a pool of IP addresses that are shared among various computers. Since a limited number of static IP addresses are available, many ISPs reserve a portion of their assigned addresses for sharing among their subscribers in this way. This lowers costs and allows them to service far more subscribers than they otherwise could.
Static IP Addresses are generally preferable for such uses as VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), online gaming, or any other purpose where users need to make it easy for other computers to locate and connect to them. Easy access can also be facilitated when using a dynamic IP address through the use of a dynamic DNS service, which enables other computers to find you even though you may be using a temporary, one-time IP address. This often entails an extra charge, however, so check with your ISP." - Referenced from http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip-address