What is an IP address?
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique address within a network used by devices to communicate with other devices within the network. Computers, printers, routers, and network hard drives are examples of devices that could have an IP address within a network.
IP addresses are generally assigned according to country and internet provider. There are also some specially reserved IP addresses or IP ranges that are universally understood:
- Local Machine IP – The IP address 127.0.0.1 (localhost) is always synonymous with the local machine. This IP address is valid only within the local machine environment, as every computer is its own “localhostâ€.
- Private Network IP’s – The IP ranges 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.254, 10.0.0.0–10.255.255.255 and 172.16.0.0–172.31.255.255 are reserved for private internal networks, such as a home networks or corporate intranets. These IP addresses are only valid within the local network and cannot be used if, for instance, a user wanted to connect to another user over the internet. Thus, it is typical for a computer to have an IP address for the local network (e.g. 10.1.2.1) and an IP address visible to the Internet (e.g. 65.34.24.24), which is itself one large network.
For the purpose of this tutorial, private network IP’s will be referred to as internal IP’s while internet-accessible IP’s will be referred to as external IP’s.
Why would I need to know my IP address?
- Network gaming [internal or external]
- Running a private server (e.g. FTP, HTTP) [internal or external]
- Windows file sharing within an home network [internal]
- … and any time another computer or service needs to identify your machine for commication or software deployment
Method #1: Using the Windows Command Prompt for IP Lookup
(Assumption: You are using Windows 2000 or XP. Windows Vista is probably the same but it will be a cold day in hell before …)
The easiest way to determine a computer’s IP address is by using the windows command ipconfig.
Click on the windows start button.
Click on the Run option on the start menu. A pop-up window entitled “Run†should appear.
Type command in the text box (Windows 2000 users: use cmd instead). Click on the OK button.
Type ipconfig in the Windows command prompt and press the Enter key.
Lookup the number beside the label “IP Addressâ€. This is at least one of the computer’s available IP addresses.
Recall from earlier that certain IP ranges are reserved for internal addresses. In this case the IP 192.168.1.101 represents the computer’s IP address within the LAN. Other machines on the LAN (e.g. computers, printers, network drives) can communicate with the computer using this IP address, but the address is unavailable to computers over the internet. The external IP address is required to connect to a network game or other service hosted outside the LAN. Fortunately, the external IP address can usually be determined by visiting certain web pages.
Method #2: Using an existing Web Page for IP Lookup
There are several instances where Method #1 cannot be used to obtain the required information. The most common instances are as follows:
- The external IP address is required but ipconfig only returns an internal IP address
- The Windows command prompt is disabled (this is sometimes done within corporate networks as a security measure).
Several web pages on the internet are dedicated to displaying a visitor’s external IP address.
Open a web browser and visit the following URL:
http://whatsmyip.org/
The external IP address will be displayed at the top of the screen.
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