Static IP vs Dynamic IP Addresses – Everything You Need to Know
Whenever we go online, or simply connect a device to a network, we only get to see a part of what’s happening. An uninterrupted, unfiltered view of the goings-on under the hood isn’t something most internet users usually need. We need to get things done – shop on that website, connect that smart TV, work remotely. We could have a lifetime of doing online things without knowing that none of them would be possible without this thing we call an IP address, or that there are different types of IP addresses, like static and dynamic.
Well, we’re here to change that! The type of IP address you use can make a lot of difference in certain situations, like if you need to set up a server or work online using a Virtual Private Network. To make sure you make the right choice when it matters, we’ll cover topics that include:
Whenever a device connects to a network, it’s assigned a unique number we call the Internet Protocol (IP) address. This number serves as an identifier for that device, and it’s what helps other devices communicate with it, kind of like a phone number does.
When you go on the internet, your device gets an IP address. Your website’s server also has an IP address that’s paired with its domain name so that we can use words to look up the website and not a series of numbers. If you have a smart washing machine or some other type of connected device in your home or office network, it has an IP address too.
If you’ve ever seen an IP address, you might have noticed that it consists of four series of numbers separated by a period. These numbers can range from 0 to 255, with the first one being the exception as IP addresses can’t start with a zero.
IP addresses that look like that use the IPv4 protocol, which is slowly being replaced by a more recent protocol, IPv6. This newer protocol uses letters and numbers, separated by colons, and many more of them, too, which is important because the pool of IPv4 addresses was officially exhausted in 2011. So we currently have two types of IP addresses in use, with the IPv6 ones slowly replacing the IPv4 ones.
We can classify IP addresses into different types in other ways, though. We can also classify them into public and private IP addresses by the type of network they’re used for. IP addresses can also be shared, as in between multiple websites on the same server, and dedicated.
In terms of how the addresses are assigned, we can classify them into static and dynamic IP addresses.
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A static IP address is an address that, when assigned to a device, doesn’t change. Usually, it’s the internet service provider who provides public static IP addresses to internet users. For websites, it’s either the hosting provider if you have one, or an ISP if you host the website on your server.
Static IP addresses are much more commonly used in servers than for a computer needing an IP address to browse the internet. They are easier to set up on hosting services that support both static and dynamic domain name systems (DNS), the systems responsible for pairing the domain name with the IP address. Static IPs also make devices easier to recognize on a network, which can lead to quicker, more reliable, and more convenient communication.
Usually, however, if a regular internet user needs or wants a static IP address, they’d have to ask their ISP for it. The service will likely come with a fee, or it will require switching to a more expensive plan. Static IPs add to the cost of the internet package, but they also make the devices that have them less secure. If a hacker learns the static address of a device or website, they’ll have more time to attack it.
In a world that’s run out of IP addresses, using a dynamic IP address seems like a reasonable thing to do. While it might have not saved us from the IPv4 address exhaustion, it’s still a common practice among ISPs. Every one of them has a pool of IP addresses they assign as needed using something called the dynamic host configuration protocol, or DHCP.
With dynamic addresses, a single IP address can be assigned to one user’s computer today, and tomorrow it can be assigned to someone miles away who happens to use the same ISP. For regular users, they’re the default option, so they don’t carry additional costs. Dynamic IP addresses don’t require a special setup, and they make devices a more difficult target for hackers, at least in this one aspect.
On the other hand, dynamic IP addresses might be harder to set up for hosted services. Using a dynamic DNS might remedy the problem by updating the pairing of domain names and IP addresses fairly quickly. That’s still a more complicated solution. Dynamic IPs can lead to a less stable internet connection, and they make services that depend on remote access more difficult to use.
Both types of IP addresses have their pros and cons, making them suitable for different uses. For someone who just needs to go online, browse the web, and watch a show online – there’s simply no need for a static IP address. The extra cost wouldn’t justify the benefits.
If, however, the same person works remotely and needs to connect to a company’s virtual network, that might warrant a static IP address. If they needed to communicate online a lot, maybe using a VoIP service, that would increase their need for a static IP.
Trying to set up a dedicated service, like a server for a website or email, would also warrant the use of a static IP. It’s easier to safeguard the reputation of an IP address – keep it away from blocklists – when using a static IP address. A dynamic IP address makes that much harder.
But if there’s no need to host dedicated services, websites, or use private networks, the regular dynamic IP address the ISP assigns should be enough. If you want to put up a server that hosts websites that only need to be accessed through your private network, there’s no need for a static public IP address, either.
In general, web hosts will assign static IP addresses, and ISPs will assign dynamic addresses. If you want your website or email service to use a dynamic address, you’ll need to install and set up a Dynamic DNS. Not all web hosts look kindly to the practice though, so you should first make sure your host supports it. With web hosts, the premium service is all about getting a dedicated IP, an IP that’s not shared with other websites on your server.
If you usually have a dynamic IP assigned to you by the ISP, you need to get in touch with them to change it to a static IP address. This service usually costs extra. The other option is to use a VPN service provider that offers dedicated IP addresses – IP addresses you can “rent” and use as your static IP addresses. Again, this will probably add to what you would otherwise pay for the VPN service.
Private IP addresses, the ones on your local or private network, are usually dynamically assigned by the router. For a user who needs to connect a couple of devices such as a computer, a laptop, or a smartphone to a network, having dynamic IP addresses will work perfectly well.
Where it gets tricky is with shared devices, or devices you need to access regularly using the IP address. For example, if you have a printer that’s shared between computers on a network, if you host a file server on the network, or even if you’re a Raspberry Pi enthusiast, then you might need to configure static or reserved IP addresses for these devices.
You can set up static IP addresses for the devices on your private network. There are two ways to do it – at the device itself, and the router. If you want to do it on the device, you’ll need to access its networking settings. On a computer, you’ll use the network properties – or preferences, if you’re using macOS – to set the computer’s IP address on the network.
Other devices might have their networking settings in their embedded web server, which you need to access through the browser using the device’s IP address. That’s pretty much how you’d do it at the router level, too – access the router’s settings through the browser using its IP address, and then look for “static IP address” or “IP address reservation” in the settings. For each device connected to the network, you’ll see something called MAC – that’s the device’s media access control address, and you’ll be reserving the IP address for it.
You should keep track of which devices you’re assigning with IP addresses. Keep note of the devices’ MAC addresses, too. You should also know that there’s only a certain range of IP addresses that are used for private networks. They include the addresses that start with 10 (10.x.x.x), the range between 172.16 and 172.31 (172.16.x.x to 172.31.x.x), and the addresses that start with 192.168 (192.168.x.x).
You might want to avoid assigning addresses that end with 0, 1, or 254, as they are often the default addresses assigned to networks or devices. You might also want to avoid using the last address in the network pool of addresses – as it’s reserved for something called a broadcast address, which is used to communicate to all the devices on a network.
Let’s Recap
IP addresses, the numbers that devices use to recognize each other on a network, can be assigned dynamically, or they can be reserved for a specific device and remain static. Both dynamic and static IP addresses have their pros and cons, and the entity that’s assigning them – the ISP, hosting provider, or even the router – usually assigns the type of address that’s needed.
If you want to change from a dynamic to static IP address, or the other way around, you can. For public IP addresses assigned by the ISP, you’ll have to contact them to get the kind of IP address you want or turn to a third-party service for a VPN workaround. For the ones assigned by the hosting provider, you’ll likely need a third-party dynamic DNS service, but make sure first the hosting provider allows it. Finally, your private IP addresses are yours to change, just remember to follow the best practices and keep track of which address you assign to which device.
