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IP numbers and domain names
by Mohan Kapoor, Supervisor, Himalayan Websites
Computers connected to the Internet are called Servers. Each of them is assigned a unique address, called an IP number. IP stands for Internet Protocol. A typical IP number looks like 66.54.199.132. Each part of the IP number consists of values between 0 and 255. Servers can have a fixed IP number or change their IP number all the time. Those servers which do not change their IP number often are called "static", those which get their IP number assigned from a pool are called "dynamic".
If you connect to the Internet through a modem, your Internet Service Provider may provide you on the fly with an IP number of his pool. This number may be different each time you connect to the Internet. In this way, an Internet Service Provider does not need an IP number for every customer but rather one IP for each of its dial-up modems.
To talk to a server on the Internet all you have to do is to key in the server's IP number into the address line of your browser, e.g. http://66.54.199.132
Domain Names
Now it would be very hard to remember the IP numbers of servers or web sites all the time. That is why Domain Names are available. They are of the form http://www.google.com or http://computech.helloyou.ws. The domain name is technically mapped to an IP number. Thus it is sufficient to know a domain name to locate an organisation or other entity on the Internet.
You may compare a domain name to a Business entry in a Yellow Pages guide and the corresponding IP number to the telephone number of the business.