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IP Addresses
Every server on the internet is assigned a unique
number – an IP (Internet Protocol) address.
This number can be thought of as a 'telephone number'
which allows other computers to find and access
files no matter where they are. The IP address is
4 bytes (32 bits). Each byte is known as an octet
and can have a value between 0 and 255, so IP addresses
are written in the form of 123.456.78.9.
IP addresses of 32 bits theoretically allow for
more than 4 billion unique addresses, but in practice
the actual number is much less. Certain ranges are
reserved for special purposes so the number of available
IP addresses is limited. Web sites can get around
this limitation by using shared hosting or virtual
servers. Rather than using one server for one web
site, shared hosting allows several sites (sometimes
hundreds) to be hosted on the same server. Each
of these sites has the same IP address. They are
uniquely identified by their domain name (e.g. mydomain.com).
There are plans to expand the number of IP addresses
with the introduction of version 6 (We currently
use version 4) of the Internet Protocol. IPv6 has
IP addresses which are 128 bits wide. This provides
an almost unlimited number of unique addresses,
but will take several years to implement because
of the heavy cost of upgrading the Internet infrastructure.
Shared hosting solves the problem of limited IP
addresses for web sites, but there is also a need
for IP addresses for each personal computer which
connects to the Internet to browse the web or send
email. Rather than assign each PC a unique IP address,
Internet Providers can use a system of 'dynamic
addresses'. This means that each time you connect
to the Internet through a dial-up or DSL modem you
are assigned a different IP address.
So far we have been discussing how to use a web
hosting company to host a web site, but there is
no reason why you can't host a site on your home
computer. The biggest technical difficulty for most
people, though, is that they connect to the Internet
using a dynamic IP address. Dynamic addresses make
it difficult to host a web site from home. Since
the IP address is constantly changing nobody would
be able to find your site unless you somehow notified
them of your current IP address. There are dynamic
DNS services, however, which allow you to assign
a domain name to a site with a dynamic IP address.
Each time you are assigned a new address your computer
automatically notifies the service, which in turn
updates its DNS (Domain Name Server).
Just Because You Can Host Your Own Domain, Doesn't
Mean You Should!
Hosting a web site on your home computer, however,
may not be a good idea. The computer has to operate
server software and needs a high speed Internet
connection. Your home Internet connection is probably
a lot slower than those used by hosting companies
so your web pages may load slowly – especially
if they have a lot of graphics. If you have a small
personal site with few visitors, though, it may
be feasible to host your own site. Dynamic DNS is
available as either a free or subscribed service.
About the Author
Liz Roberts is a loan consultant
with NewHorizon
Finance and has been running an online finance
company since 1989. Bad Credit? Join our mailing
list for tips on building and repairing
your credit yourself, without hiring a credit
repair service. Click here for a list of bad
credit unsecured credit cards
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