Static vs. Dynamic IP Address

Does talking about the difference between a static IP address and a dynamic IP confuse you too? It really is very simple and IPAddress.com will explain.

A dynamic IP address assigns different IPs every time a person of a ISP connects to their network. A static IP address is a single IP for one person that sticks with the customer for a longer amount of time. It could be weeks, months, or years and depends on how long the lease is for the static address.

That is the simplest explanation you could ever read about Static vs. Dynamic IP addressing. Now what would a person need to have one kind over the other for?

Uses vary of why people or businesses need a dynamic or static IP. During a dynamic IP session there is a very high chance that the same person would share a IP address over a short time period, a few days for example. This may be ok to a home customer who is watching Netflix or playing online games from their PC. A business may see this as a big deal and want a static IP instead.

A business might need a IP address to stay the same and never change, remaining static so one of their employees who travels can connect to a corporate intranet.

When the IP is dynamic in a case like this the employee would not know the always changing address and calling back to support asking what the IP had changed to so they could connect to the intranet.

Situations like these are when a static address will be used and the employee will always know what IP to connect to because it hasn’t changed.

Professional gamers with a XBox or PlayStation like a static IP for the same reasons. These gamers connect to remote servers setup by them or their friends for special multiplayer games or to increase the power of online worlds within games.

A downside to having a static IP is also a security concern. Hackers or others that know what they are doing can cause havoc against a website, server, or even a person with a static IP better because it never changes.

Dynamic IP addresses pose a lower security risk. IPs of people are always updating and swapping around to a new person, usually assigned in the order of which people connect to their ISP like a cable or broadband company.

Not every business will have or can afford a static IP. Small business with a home or office with only a few employees often have dynamic IP addressing setup on their network.

A dynamic IP address can be used for most anything in the home or small business market. Static IPs are used in large corporate or complex networks that require more security and configuration.

The next time someone asks you to compare a static IP vs. a Dynamic IP address you will have a good answer for them after reading this article! Here is something fun to try, lookup a IP address and think about the kind that it is.

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