What are Static IP, Dynamic IP, and Network Address Translation (NAT)?
It’s a good idea to understand what these terms mean, as it will make it easier for you to set up your network. A static IP address is always the same. You manually configure your computer to use a specific IP address. Your ISP will provide this address. A dynamic IP address needs to be assigned to a computer. When the computer is turned on, it will “search” for the Dynamic IP server (in Windows, this may also be called DHCP). Once this IP address is assigned, your computer uses it until it is turned off. Why would I use one or the other? It is important for web and mail servers to always have the same IP address; that way the address doesn’t have to be looked up every time a server needs to be accessed. When you get residential high-speed Internet access, your ISP may give you a static IP address. However, not every machine on the Internet can have a static IP address. In the current IP protocol, there are a limited number of numbered IP addresses, and they need to be conserved. Chanc
