Private and Public IP Addresses

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are of two types: Public and Private.

Public IP address

A public IP address is assigned to every device that connects to the Internet where each IP is unique. In this case, there cannot exist two device with the same public IP address all over the Internet. This addressing scheme makes it possible for the devices to “find each other” online and exchange information. User has no control over the IP address (public) that is assigned to the device. The public IP address is assigned to the device by the Internet Service Provider as soon as the devive is connected to the Internet.

A public IP address can be either static or dynamic.

Public static means the IP address never changes as long as you stay with the same provider or same server.

Public dynamic means the IP address can change from time-to-time.

Private IP address

Private means the IP address can only be used by those on the same network.

An IP address is considered private if the IP number falls within one of the IP address ranges reserved for private networks such as a Local Area Network (LAN). The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved the following three blocks of the IP address space for private networks (local networks):

10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (Total Addresses: 16,777,216)

172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (Total Addresses: 1,048,576)

192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (Total Addresses: 65,536)