IP is short for Internet Protocol but, in this case, I'm referring to your Internet Protocol Address. Every device on the Internet has a unique IP address that identifies where to send information. Here is a good article about the Domain Name System that you're familiar with:
http://www.websitemaven.com/domain_n..._a_domain_name
Here's the IP for my maching on my local area network:
Quote:
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.15.102
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.15.1
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In actuality, though, my computer is on a LAN and the IP that the Internet sees is my modem:
Quote:
Internet IP Address: 61.44.9.18
DNS 1: 210.143.144.11
DNS 2: 210.143.144.12
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You think you're going to
http://www.puritanboard.com when you browse here. In actuality, you're telling your computer to ask the Domain Name System to find the IP for puritanboard.com. Here it is:
Quote:
Pinging puritanboard.com [69.73.139.207] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 69.73.139.207: bytes=32 time=215ms TTL=45
Reply from 69.73.139.207: bytes=32 time=211ms TTL=45
Reply from 69.73.139.207: bytes=32 time=211ms TTL=45
Reply from 69.73.139.207: bytes=32 time=220ms TTL=45
Ping statistics for 69.73.139.207:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 211ms, Maximum = 220ms, Average = 214ms
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You're actually visiting 69.73.139.207 and asking the server: "Hey, can I see the resource for
www.puritanboard.com on your server. The DNS told me you have that information."
Pretty simple.