What is an IP address..?

Every device connected to the public Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. IP addresses consist of four numbers separated by periods  and look something like 198.162.0.1. 

There are two methods to assigning IP addresses to computers: dynamic  and static.

In order to use a dynamic IP address, a service such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is used to assign addresses dynamically to devices as they request them. If a static address is used, it must be manually programmed into parameters of the device's network interface.