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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
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<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/" type="topic" style="tip" id="net-what-is-ip-address">
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<link type="guide" xref="net"/>
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<revision pkgversion="3.0" date="2011-04-05" status="final"/>
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<revision pkgversion="3.0" version="3.0.1" date="2011-04-06" status="outdated"/>
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<name>Jim Campbell</name>
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<email>jwcampbell@gmail.com</email>
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<desc>An IP Address is like a phone number for your computer.</desc>
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<include xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2001/XInclude" href="legal.xml"/>
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<title>What is an IP address?</title>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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>
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<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 accesses the network. Static IP addresses are fixed, and do not change. Dynamic IP addresses are more common that static addresses--static IP addresses are typically only used when there is a special need for them, such as administering a server.</p></note>