Internal IP vs External IP

What is IP?

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are used by computers to find each other over the Internet.
There are two types of IP addresses such as:

Internal IP (Local/Private IP)
External IP (Global/Public IP)

External and local IP addresses both serve the same purpose, the difference is the scope.
An external or public IP address is used across the entire Internet to locate computer systems and devices.
A local or internal IP address is used inside a private network to locate the computers and devices connected to it.

The Internal IP address is used in a local network assigned by a router.

192.168.0.123

115.98.197.44

The External IP address is a number used to indicate the location of a computer or other device on a network using TCP/IP assigned by ISP.

Local IP (Internal)

If your computer is connected to a router with default settings, that router will automatically assign a local IP address to your computer.
Your local IP address is hidden from the outside world and used only inside your private network.
You generally don't need to know much about it unless you're trying to set up a game or web server.
The local IP address can change depending on what other devices are connected to the same network and in what order they were connected.
Most network routers assign IP addresses starting at 192.168.1.2, and increment the last digit with each new device that connects.

How to find your Local IP Address:

A command line window will open.Click on the Start menu and type cmd.
When you see the cmd applications in Start menu panel, click it or just press enter.
Type ipconfig and press enter.
You'll see a bunch of information, but the line you want to look for is "IPv4 Address." The number across from that text is your local IP address.

Local IP

Type ipconfig in command prompt

How to find your Local IP Address on Mac:

Open System Preferences (via the Apple menu at the top lefthand corner of your screen).
When System Preferences opens, click on the icon labeled Network.
You should see a few options on the left with labels like Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, etc. The ones with green dots have IP addresses assigned to them.
Click the one on top (if it isn't already selected) and look to the right.
There should be a sentence that reads something like "Wi-Fi is connected to Chocolate and has the IP address 192.168.1.102." The number at the end of that sentence is your local IP address.

External IP (Public)

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns you an external IP address when you connect to the Internet.
When your web browser requests a webpage, it sends this IP address along with it.
Your ISP uses this to know which of its customers are requesting which webpage.
Also, any website that you visit will have access to this IP address.
Every website also has an IP address of its own, though you never need to know them.
When you type in the domain name, such as "www.google.com", a Domain Name Server (DNS) looks up the IP address for you, which is the real location of the website.

How to find your Public IP Address:

Visit a search engine like Google and search for " what's my IP ".
The first result you get should be a site called What's My IP Address. Click on that.
Your external/public IP address should be prominently displayed on the resulting page.

Internal IP vs External IP

What is IP?

Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are used by computers to find each other over the Internet.

There are two types of IP addresses such as:

Internal IP (Local/Private IP)

External IP (Global/Public IP)

External and local IP addresses both serve the same purpose, the difference is the scope.

An external or public IP address is used across the entire Internet to locate computer systems and devices.

A local or internal IP address is used inside a private network to locate the computers and devices connected to it.

The Internal IP address is used in a local network assigned by a router.

192.168.0.123

115.98.197.44

The External IP address is a number used to indicate the location of a computer or other device on a network using TCP/IP assigned by ISP.

Local IP (Internal)

If your computer is connected to a router with default settings, that router will automatically assign a local IP address to your computer.

Your local IP address is hidden from the outside world and used only inside your private network.

You generally don't need to know much about it unless you're trying to set up a game or web server.

The local IP address can change depending on what other devices are connected to the same network and in what order they were connected.

Most network routers assign IP addresses starting at 192.168.1.2, and increment the last digit with each new device that connects.

How to find your Local IP Address:

A command line window will open.Click on the Start menu and type cmd.

When you see the cmd applications in Start menu panel, click it or just press enter.

Type ipconfig and press enter.

You'll see a bunch of information, but the line you want to look for is "IPv4 Address." The number across from that text is your local IP address.

Local IP

Type ipconfig in command prompt

How to find your Local IP Address on Mac:

Open System Preferences (via the Apple menu at the top lefthand corner of your screen).

When System Preferences opens, click on the icon labeled Network.

You should see a few options on the left with labels like Wi-Fi, Ethernet, Bluetooth, etc. The ones with green dots have IP addresses assigned to them.

Click the one on top (if it isn't already selected) and look to the right.

There should be a sentence that reads something like "Wi-Fi is connected to Chocolate and has the IP address 192.168.1.102." The number at the end of that sentence is your local IP address.

External IP (Public)

Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns you an external IP address when you connect to the Internet.

When your web browser requests a webpage, it sends this IP address along with it.

Your ISP uses this to know which of its customers are requesting which webpage.

Also, any website that you visit will have access to this IP address.

Every website also has an IP address of its own, though you never need to know them.

When you type in the domain name, such as "www.google.com", a Domain Name Server (DNS) looks up the IP address for you, which is the real location of the website.

How to find your Public IP Address:

Visit a search engine like Google and search for " what's my IP ".

The first result you get should be a site called What's My IP Address. Click on that.

Your external/public IP address should be prominently displayed on the resulting page.

Public IP