Dynamic Internet Protocol Address

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What Does Dynamic Internet Protocol Address Mean?

A dynamic Internet Protocol address (dynamic IP address) is a temporary IP address that is assigned to a computing device or node when it’s connected to a network. A dynamic IP address is an automatically configured IP address assigned by a DHCP server to every new network node.

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Techopedia Explains Dynamic Internet Protocol Address

Dynamic IP addresses are generally implemented by Internet service providers and networks that have a large number of connecting clients or end-nodes. Unlike static IP addresses, dynamic IP addresses are not permanent. A dynamic IP is assigned to a node until it’s connected to the network; therefore, the same node may have a different IP address every time it reconnects with the network.

The assigning, reassigning and modification of dynamic IP addresses is managed by a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. One of the primary reasons behind having dynamic IP addresses is the shortage of static IP address on IPv4. Dynamic IP addresses allow a single IP address to be shuffled between many different nodes to circumvent this problem.

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Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.