What’s the Difference between Internal and External IP Address? – Guide

The external IP address or public IP address is the IP address of the router interface that is connected to the Internet. The external IP address or public IP address is the IP address of the router interface that is connected to the Internet. External and local IP addresses serve the same purpose, the difference is scope. An external or public IP address is used throughout the Internet to locate computer systems and devices. A local or internal IP address is used on a private network to locate the computers and devices connected to it. These are public (global) addresses used on the Internet. A public IP address is an IP address used to access the Internet. Unlike private addresses, public IP addresses are routable on the Internet. Private (internal) addresses are not routed on the internet and no traffic can be sent to them from the internet; They should only work within the local network. These are reserved IP addresses. These addresses are intended for use on closed local area networks, and no one globally controls the assignment of such addresses. All IPv4 addresses can be divided into two main groups: global (or public, external) – this group can also be called “WAN addresses” – those used on the Internet, and private (or local, internal) addresses – those used on the local area network (LAN).

Internal vs External IP Address: What’s the Difference

External (public) IP address

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns you an external IP address when you connect to the Internet. When your web browser requests a web page, it also sends that IP address. Your ISP uses this to know which of your customers is requesting which webpage. Also, every website you visit has access to this IP address. Its external IP address is 172.70.142.27. Each website also has its own IP address, but you never need to know that. When you enter the domain name like “www.google.com”, a domain name server (DNS) appears up the IP address for you, which is the actual location of the website. In this way, domain names are like human-friendly names pointing to machine-friendly IP addresses.

Local IP address (internal)

If your computer is connected to a router with default settings, that router will automatically assign a local IP address to your computer. Your local IP address is hidden from the outside world and is only used on your private network. You usually don’t need to know much about this unless you’re trying to define up a game or web server. The local IP address may change depending on what other devices are connected to the same network and the order in which they were connected. Most network routers assign IP addresses starting at 192.168.1.2 and increasing the last digit with each new device that connects. For example, if you turn on your computer first and it is the only device connected to your network, it will likely be assigned a local IP address of 192.168.1.2. So when you turn on your laptop and connects to the network, it will likely be assigned a local IP address of 192.168.1.3. And so on (the IP address 192.168.1.1 is usually reserved for the router itself). From the router’s control panel, you can assign specific IP addresses to devices, so that a device always gets the same local IP address when connecting. This is called a static local IP address. For more information, see your router’s manual.

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