What’s the Difference between Internal and External IP Address? – Guide
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 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
Domain names are like human-friendly names pointing to machine-friendly IP addresses. 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 that you can use without knowing where they come from.
Local IP address (internal)
If your computer is connected to a router with default settings, the router will 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.
When you connect to the internet, your computer will likely be assigned an IP address by your ISP. This is called a dynamic IP address. You can usually change this IP address by going to your computer’s “network settings” and selecting “change adapter settings”. If you don’t want to use your ISP’s assigned IP address, you can also get a static local IP address by connecting to your router and assigning a specific IP address to each device on your network. ..
Final note
Internal IP Address and External IP Address Internal IP Address is the address of a computer on your network that is used by the computer itself. External IP Address is the address of a computer on another network that your computer connects to. When you connect to the internet, your computer uses Internal IP Address. When you connect to another network, your computer uses External IP Address.
