1.

Briefly describe what are IP addresses

 An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label that is assigned to devices participating in a
computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication between its nodes. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_addresses

 pronounced as separate letters) Short for Internet Protocol. IP specifies the format of
packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme. Most networks combine IP
with a higher-level protocol called Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which
establishes a virtual connection between a destination and a source.

IP by itself is something like the postal system. It allows you to address a package and
drop it in the system, but there's no direct link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on
the other hand, establishes a connection between two hosts so that they can send
messages back and forth for a period of time.

The current version of IP is IPv4. A new version, called IPv6 or IPng, is under
development.

 An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP
protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination. The format of an IP
address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each
number can be zero to 255. For example, 1.160.10.240 could be an IP address.

Within an isolated network, you can assign IP addresses at random as long as each one is
unique. However, connecting a private network to the Internet requires using registered
IP addresses (called Internet addresses) to avoid duplicates.

The four numbers in an IP address are used in different ways to identify a particular
network and a host on that network. Four regional Internet registries -- ARIN, RIPE
NCC, LACNIC and APNIC -- assign Internet addresses from the following three classes.

 Class A - supports 16 million hosts on each of 126 networks

 Class B - supports 65,000 hosts on each of 16,000 networks
 Class C - supports 254 hosts on each of 2 million networks

The number of unassigned Internet addresses is running out, so a new classless scheme
called CIDR is gradually replacing the system based on classes A, B, and C and is tied to
adoption of IPv6.

2. Differentiate Static from Dynamic IP addresses

(dī-nam´ik nat) (n.) A type of NAT in which a private IP address is mapped to a public IP address drawing
from a pool of registered (public) IP addresses. Typically, the NAT router in a network will keep a table of
registered IP addresses, and when a private IP address requests access to the Internet, the router
chooses an IP address from the table that is not at the time being used by another private IP address.
Dynamic NAT helps to secure a network as it masks the internal configuration of a private network and
makes it difficult for someone outside the network to monitor individual usage patterns. Another
advantage of dynamic NAT is that it allows a private network to use private IP addresses that are invalid
on the Internet but useful as internal addresses.

Dynamic IPs are used in large networks where computers are frequently reconfigured, or where a
limited number of IP address are available to share between many computers.

(stat´ik nat) (n.) A type of NAT in which a private IP address is mapped to a public IP address, where the
public address is always the same IP address (i.e., it has a static address). This allows an internal host,
such as a Web server, to have an unregistered (private) IP address and still be reachable over the
Internet.

Because a static IP can be relied on for an indefinite period, some networking software requires a
static IP. ISPs usually charge extra for static IPs. Your ISP may not be willing to give their
customers static IP addresses at all.

3. Advantages/ Disadvantages of using static and dynamic IP

4. Briefly discuss IPv4, Network address translation, IPv6

An IP address identifies a computer or other device to a network. The basic concept is simple:
every device on a network needs to have its own address. that way, data is sent to the right place.
There are IP addresses are used by the whole Internet, and others, only used by locally, for
example in your home.

What's the Difference Between a Static and a Dynamic IP Address?

The IP address from your ISP is assigned one of two ways:

 Set to an IP address which is unchanged for months or years at a time. This is a static IP
address.
 Set to an IP which is only good for a limited time, and which is changed according to the
policy set by your ISP's DHCP server. This is a dynamic IP address.
 A static IP address is a number (in the form of a dotted quad) that is assigned to a
computer by an Internet service provider (ISP) to be its permanent address on the
Internet. Computers use IP addresses to locate and talk to each other on the Internet,
much the same way people use phone numbers to locate and talk to one another on the
telephone. When you want to visit whatis.com, your computer asks a domain name
system (DNS) server (think telephone information operator) for the correct dotted quad
number (think phone number) for whatis.com and your computer uses the answer it
receives to connect to the whatis.com server.

 It would be simple if every computer that connects to the Internet could have its own
static IP number, but when the Internet was first conceived, the architects didn't foresee
the need for an unlimited number of IP addresses. Consequently, there are not enough IP
numbers to go around. To get around that problem, many Internet service providers limit
the number of static IP addresses they allocate, and economize on the remaining number
of IP addresses they possess by temporarily assigning an IP address to a requesting
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) computer from a pool of IP addresses.
The temporary IP address is called a dynamic IP address.

 Requesting DHCP computers receive a dynamic IP address (think temporary phone

number) for the duration of that Internet session or for some other specified amount of
time. Once the user disconnects from the Internet, their dynamic IP address goes back
into the IP address pool so it can be assigned to another user. Even if the user reconnects
immediately, odds are they will not be assigned the same IP address from the pool. To
keep our telephone telephone analogy going, using a dynamic IP address is similar to
using a pay phone. Unless there is a reason to receive a call, the user does not care what
number he or she is calling from.

 There are times, however, when users who connect to the Internet using dynamic IP wish
to allow other computers to locate them. Perhaps they want to use CU-SeeMe or use a
VoIP application to make long distance phone calls using their IP connection. In that
case, they would need a static IP address. The user has two choices; they can contact their
ISP and request a static IP address, or they can use a dynamic DNS service. Either choice
will probably involve an additional monthly fee.

 Using a dynamic DNS service works as if there was an old-fashioned telephone message
service at your computer's disposal. When a user registers with a DNS service and
connects to the Internet with a dynamic IP address, the user's computer contacts the DNS
service and lets them know what IP address it has been assigned from the pool; the
service works with the DNS server to forward the correct address to the requesting DHCP
computer. (Think of calling the message service and saying "Hi. I can be reached at
435.44.32.111 right now. Please tell anyone who tries to reach me to call that number.)
Using a dynamic DNS service to arrange for computers to find you even though you are
using a dynamic IP address is the next-best thing to having a static IP.
 IPv6, which has also been called "IPng" (IP Next Generation), lengthens IP addresses
from 32 bits to 128 bits and increasesthe number of available IP addressess significantly,
making static IP addresses easier and less expensive to obtain and maintain.