I recently contacted a hosting provider (http://www.muchhost.com) as a potential customer, and one of my questions was "Do you provide static IP Addresses?".

What I'm looking for is someone who will provide a unique IP number mapped to my URL that doesn't change from session to session. I think, in hindsight, I really meant "dedicated" IP Addresses.

Their response was, yes, they provide static IP addresses, but not dedicated addresses for sites they host. They also said that Windows hosting works differently in that regard from Unix hosting (They use Win2K exclusively).

Can someone explain "static" vs. "dedicated" IP addresses?

Also, is it possible to briefly explain, without getting too technical, how Windows hosts treat IP Addressing differently from Unix?

Thanks.

Originally posted by meerkat
...Their response was, yes, they provide static IP addresses, but not dedicated addresses for sites they host. They also said that Windows hosting works differently in that regard from Unix hosting (They use Win2K exclusively).

Can someone explain "static" vs. "dedicated" IP addresses?

Also, is it possible to briefly explain, without getting too technical, how Windows hosts treat IP Addressing differently from Unix?

Thanks.



My guess would be:

Static - the IP address assigned to you does not change. Opposite of static IP address is dynamic IP address.

Dedicated - each site on a server has its own IP address. Opposite of dedicated IP address is shared IP address.


I'm sorry I cannot answer your Windows question. I have enough trouble with Windows on my desktop; there's no way I'd want to try running it remotely. :)

Hi Meerkat
First of all, you're getting a couple of things mixed up here. Dynamic and static ip addresses generally refer to your internet connection...that question is whether or not you get a different ip address for YOUR computer everytime you dial up to the internet (probably so).

The question you are trying to ask is, "Does my website have a UNIQUE ip address?", and it appears from the potential provider that the answer is no. It appears they use "name based" hosting, not ip based. This is ok, unless you have a special reason for needing your own ip address for your website, like installing SSL. Other than that, there aren't many reasons for it. Windows is perfectly capable of providing good name-based hosting.