An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifier assigned to each device connected to a network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. It serves as a way to identify and locate devices on a network, allowing them to send and receive data.
There are two main types of IP addresses: IPv4 (e.g., 192.168.1.1) and IPv6 (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334). IPv4 is the most widely used, but IPv6 is increasingly adopted due to the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses.
IP addresses can be dynamic (assigned temporarily by a DHCP server) or static (manually assigned and fixed). They are essential for routing data across the internet and local networks, enabling communication between devices worldwide.
A website can retrieve a visitor's IP address through server-side variables like REMOTE_ADDR or HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR (for proxied requests). This code uses PHP to detect the visitor's IP address automatically, as shown in the form above. Note that IP addresses may not always be accurate due to proxies, VPNs, or shared networks.