Technical Question ljc

Subject: Technical Question ljc
From: little john cameron
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 01:15 PM

Wee question for you techies.The Internet Service Provider number in my case is 205.251.130.202)
Could somebody please tell what these numbers? ljc

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: MMario
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 01:29 PM

essentially it is the equivilant of a "phone number" , or a Social Security number, etc.

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: Justa Picker
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 01:33 PM

Think of it as a "license plate" that uniquely identifies them, on the internet. (Also referred to as an I.P. [internet protocol] address.)

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: little john cameron
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 01:49 PM

Thanks guys,ah know that bit.What ah want to know is the different parts of the numbers.For instance if somebody posts under different names but the isp number is the same computer.Even if they use the man next doors pc the first numbers will still be the same? ljc

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: DMcG
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 02:05 PM

No, its not so straightforward as that! The licence plate analogy is a good one. Your neighbour's licence plate may be similar to yours, but there's no need for it to be. As a rule, the higher parts are owned by an organisation which then re-allocates the lower parts to other people or organisations and so on, so AOL people have similar numbers (maybe the top part the same), NTL people have other similar numbers, and so on. So if your neighbour is NTL but you are AOL, the numbers will be quite different.

Of course, its more complicated than that, especially if the number is, say, 10.*.*.*

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: MMario
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 02:11 PM

not necessarily - depends on the licensing arrangments and how they connect.

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: DMcG
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 03:30 PM

Yep, MMario - I think I said not straightforward! :)

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: MMario
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 03:37 PM

sorry DMcG - we cross-posted. I was replying to ljc

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: Mark Clark
Date: 14 Mar 02 - 03:51 PM

The number you cited is called an Internet Protocol (IP) address. It consists of four hierarchical numbers each of which can range in value from 0 to 255 (decimal). At any given moment each IP address in use worldwide is assigned to exactly one network interface card (NIC). A NIC is the electronic adapter that allows a device such as a computer or a router to communicate over a network. If the computer us using a dial-up conncection, the IP address is assigned to serial line IP (SLIP or PPP) driver the computer is using to communicate.

Rather than compose an entire explanation, I'll include a link to the Atomica site where the interested reader may type the string IP address into the search bar at the top of the page. Atomica will return a more complete answer.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: Scabby Douglas
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 07:04 AM

I think that another thing to add is that the same person may post 2 days in succession , but have different IP addresses - because their ISP will allocate an IP address temporarily for the purposes of connecting. But that address will not permanently be reserved for a specific individual.

That's as I understand the sitaution at any rate. Unless someone else knows better of course...

Cheers

Steven

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: GUEST,Rag
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 08:11 AM

Yup. The IP address is resolvable into names of domains so for example www.mudcat.org translates on my machine to 207.103.108.101 which is the IP address of the site on whatever machine delivered it to me.

The reason we have this system is so that every domain can be identified world-wide and referenced. The numbers are allocated to service providers by the www powers-that-be so the numbers you get allocated will all be from your ISP's pool and will change as the numbers are recycled.

Internal networks also use the same numbering system so network computers will also have IP addresses but these will either be allocated by a server or fixed for the machine.

So depending on the context, we can think of the IP address as either the address of a domain on the internet or a the address of a machine. If a machine has more than one network card, it will have more than one IP address.

We tend to use human readable names like mudcat.org because it's easier to use than 207.103.108.101.

If you want to know who has the various IP addresses you can ferret around using some of the sites listed in Google when you search on "IP Address". Of course, there's more to life...

End of nerdy message.

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: little john cameron
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 10:48 AM

Thanks muckle guys.Ah tried the Atomica site,unfortunely ah couldnae make heid nor tail o' it.Ah'm no' relly that smert ye know!
So the bottom line is whit?? LJC

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: DMcG
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 10:55 AM

My version of the bottom line: You can't work out a geographical place from an IP number with any great confidence except by using tracing tools which usually only show where the registered owner of the address is - often a company's head office - which is often different from where that IP address is use. Even if you can find a geographical place for the address, the answer may only be true at that moment. A minute later, the same IP address could be somewhere else entirely.

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: MMario
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:08 AM

what he said.

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: DMcG
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 11:09 AM

And below my bottom line.... (?)

Here is, I hope, a blue clicky which is one of many sites that let you find which company or organisation owns any given IP address. http://antifraud.com/ipcheck.htm

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: Mark Clark
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 06:15 PM

Try Ben's phaster online Web utilities. You'll find a lot of functionality dealing with the domain naming service (DNS) and IP addresses.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: mack/misophist
Date: 15 Mar 02 - 10:47 PM

If you're looking for a 'static' IP address (One that stays the same), get a whois utility. There are a number of free ones. It gives the domain info, often with a street address. For a dial up connection, the best you can do is their ISP. If you have Linux or Unix, whois is built in, most likely.

Subject: RE: Technical Question ljc
From: little john cameron
Date: 16 Mar 02 - 12:03 AM

Jings lads,mah heid's spinnin lol.Whit ah'm tryin tae get at is ah had ah clown oan mah board gettin awbody worked up wi' postin inflamatory remarks.Ah hae control o' the board so ah can see who is postin although email addys are no' mandatory"so far".He is banned noo so that problem is solved.Ah jist wis tryin tae be sure it wis him aw' the time.Ah could jist keep deletin his posts bit then the the replies get rubbed oot as weel.
Ah can see whaur Max an' Joe are comin fae noo. ljc