Technically

Technically

What's an IP address?

It's like your house, if your house could walk around

Justin's avatar
Justin
Jan 18, 2020
∙ Paid
32
1
Share

The TL;DR

Houses have street addresses, and computers have IP addresses. 

  • IP addresses are the way that computers on a network know who’s who, just like on your block at home

  • IP addresses are usually only unique within a local network, but there are tons of networks out there

  • IP addresses are mostly IPv4 (32 bits), but the internet is outgrowing that standa…

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to Technically to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Justin
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture