Today we will understand the difference between static IP addresses and dynamic IP addresses here. A static IP address is fixed IP address which is manually assigned to a device for a long period of time. Even then, the Dynamic IP address frequently changes whenever the user boots his/her machine, and it is automatically assigned.

The Internet Protocol (IP) address is a unique numerical identifier assigned to each device on a network to identify each connection uniquely. These encode the network number and host number of the hosts and routers connected to the network. IPv4 addresses are 32 bits long. And they are used in the source and destination addresses of IP packets. The IP address is not necessarily referred to a host instead it refers to a network interface, so if a user is on two networks, it must have two IP addresses.

Static IP address

According to their name, the Static IP address is fixed in nature and does not change until it is manually changed by the ISP or network administrator. Opposite the dynamic address, the static IP address does not change each time when the user connects to the network or sends a message. This is usually assigned to the servers, mail servers, etc. On that time, when a host is configured with static IP address, the process includes a workstation on a network using static IP addressing and accessing the desired network element directly. The Static IP addressing provides consistent and immediate access with negligible overheads as associated IP address never alters. At least the benefit of using static IP is that it gives less downtime, unlike dynamic IP which creates overheads when is assigned to a device. These also provide remote access, which means a user can access his/her own pc from any location. 

Dynamic IP address

If we talk about dynamic IP, then the dynamic IP address is usually configured on the devices using the DHCP protocol, and it frequently acquires changes. Every time the user connects to the network its dynamic IP changes. A DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server uses a system to trace and lookup IP address information that associate to the active network elements. This tool which is used for translation is known as Domain Name Server (DNS).

A DNS stores the IP address along with the mapped domain name to identify the proper location of the network element and guides the network traffic to the right point. There are two protocols DHCP and DNS are extensively used while browsing the internet. If a user tries to connect to the network DHCP provides you with a dynamic IP address for a duration and when the user types a URL on the address bar of a browser the DNS server maps the domain name to the IP address required for the transmission of the web page.