You probably use your broadband connections for many activities when you're at home or at work,
but you can also make use of that connection to access devices in your network even while you're away.
For example, you might want to view your home security camera, get files from your company's FTP server, use your work computer from home, or even access the router itself to manage it remotely.
This is possible due to the fact that routers have a feature called
port forwarding
and you need to know the public IP address assigned to your network by your ISP.
The problem is that for most home or business users, the public IP address is dynamic and will change from time to time.
When using dynamic IP addresses, even if you are permanently connected (your router is always on)
some ISPs change it every 24 hours, others change less frequently (monthly or even longer in certain cases).
While you can always find the new IP address and begin using it instead but the address will eventually change again and you have no idea when.
Static IP addressing
A static IP address is one that remains fixed and never changes.
The PC always sees the same address regardless if the session between the PC and ISP is broken or not.
Many users think that static IP address provided by ISP is necessary for remote access and remote viewing of cameras.
While having static IP address may be helpful, it is not necessary to have it and pay extra for it every month.
Plus, static IP address could be a security threat since the IP address is always the same.
You might get hacked more easily.
Also, you cannot easily change the static IP once it has been hacked.
This makes your system susceptible to continuous attack.
Another thing is that you have to manually configure the static IP,
and changes may also need to be made to the router.
You will need to keep track of these configurations because a mismatch somewhere may cause you many problems.
For home users that only run a few machines, this may still be manageable.
But for corporations and companies this is quite a headache.
Dynamic DNS service
A dynamic IP address is one that changes over time or in the case of a Dial-up connection when the user disconnects and reconnects to his/her ISP or sometimes when the ISP disconnects it.
A better solution to a constantly changing IP address is to use our free
dynamic DNS service that can automatically track the changes to your network's public IP address.
We provide you with your own specific domain name and then will regularly update the IP address to make sure that the domain name always points to your current IP address.
Get started today!
Static vs dynamic IP - Do...