I have always assumed, without thinking too hard on the subject, that ISP addresses were little numbers that come directly from your computer. I have read how some can be the same, something about AOL? Can someone explain the whole thing to me?
Darby
ISP addresses are the encoded Latitude and Longitude of the server. The FBI uses Global Positioning technology to track down bad guys by their ISP number.
I think you mean IP address. I’m to tired to explain them, just look it up in Yahoo’s internet dictionary.
We have two replies. One’s a dumb joke, and the other is someone actually going out of their way to say they don’t feel like explaining it. What a helpful bunch. You know what they say about not being a part of the solution…
Anyways:
IP Address FAQ
[Edited by Alphagene on 07-11-2000 at 03:47 AM]
DUMB JOKE?!?!?!?!? If the thread weren’t in here twice, there wouldn’t have been the need for a dumb joke. Manny, sic Alphagene off of me, please.
Chronos
Member
Registered: Jan 2000
Posts: 927
While you have the IP number, it points uniquely to your machine. However, you get the number from your provider, AOL or whatever. Most ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have fewer IP numbers than they have customers, and so they use what’s called dynamic allocation: When you sign on, the assign you one that’s available at the moment, which you may or may not have had before. The next day, that same number can and probably will be used by someone else. They can do this because there’s no chance that every single AOL user is going to be online at once.
On the other hand, some providers provide static IP addresses, which always stay with the same computer. This is particularly true for universities, DSL, cable modems, and other setups where users are likely to keep their computers hooked up 24/7. Note that even in this case, the IP number isn’t completely fixed to the machine, as it’ll change if you change providers.
Usually, all of the IP numbers available to a given provider will be similar; typically, the first two sets of three digits will be the same. For instanace, all of the numbers for a given ISP might be something like 123.234.xxx.xxx, where the x’s can be variable. The larger providers like AOL might have several sets.
07-10-2000 03:51 PM IP: Logged
MinkMan
Member
Registered: Jul 2000
Posts: 2
The numbers you are thinking of are called IP[\i] addresses. Now I’m going to simplify this a bit, but if you want more details just ask. Explaining the “whole thing” would take a book, but this is what I do for a living. The address are 32-bit binary numbers (don’t worry about what that means)that are usually written as xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx where each ‘xxx’ is a number between 0 and 255 Every computer that is on the internet is assigned an IP address.
Some computers have permanently assigned addresses (static IPs) Since it would be a pain to have to remember that http://www.straightdope.com is actually 67.97.40.3, there exists a way (DNS - the Domain Name System) to translate the names to the appropiate numbers. When you are connected to your ISP, you are assigned an IP from a pool of addresses that they own. So when you are online no one else has the same number as you, but as soon as you sign off the number will get recycled by your ISP. I think that is what you are asking.
There are also some sets of numbers that are reserved for use on private networks. (They begin with 10.xxx.xxx.xxx or 196.168.xxx.xxx for example.) Since these address are not directly part of the public Internet, more than one computer can be using them at once as long as they are not on the same network.
So why have numbers at all? The computers that make up the guts of the Internet use then to know how to route your emails, IMs, web pages around to the appropriate servers to get things where you want them to go. How routing works is a whole other (albeit related) ballgame.
Let me know if this answers your question. There’s a lot more to it than this, so just say the word and I’ll give it another shot.
This is not a complete or concise explanation at all. Latitude and Longitude make as much sense. But you know what they say: If you are not part of the SOLUTION, you are part of the PROBLEM. (Alphagene paraphrases this incorrectly, so the point he is trying to make is nonsensical.)
I also have a question on this subject. Understand the distinction between dynamic and static IP’s. However, I also thought that someone coming from a dynamic IP could still be identified if they didn’t unload the cookie before re-visiting. If they unload then there’s nothing with which to match the individual computer.
Some search engine’s set a limit on how many submissions of web pages they will accept from any one source in a given time frame and I’ve thought the combo of dynamic IP’s and unloading cookies got around that.
Never quite understood how the admin’s on a message board like SDMB log IP’s in those circumstances but if anyone can explain it would solve a mystery for me.
Cookies are set by a site on your machine, so the next time you visit the site they can identify you and information about you.
IP addresses are very similar to telephone numbers; you contact another computer on the Internet by “calling” it’s IP address.
If there is a thread that has previously discussed this, you could have simply provided a link. And perhaps my answer was inadequate in your opinion, but I made an attempt. The internet isn’t my field of experise, but I felt bad that the OP got dimissed that quickly so I did a quick lookup.
Hopefully someone more knowledgable about the internet than I will supply more detailed information.
Thank ya’ll very much! Much more understanding on the subject now.
This posted twice because when I hit the submit button the first time I got an error message and when I checked the board it wasn’t there so I posted it again and of course when I got back it was there twice. Sorry.
Darby
I’m going to close this one instead of the other one, because that one has less clutter.
Sorry about that, London_Calling. Please re-ask your related question in the twin of this thread, located here.