Static and Dynamic IP addresses

When someone manually configures a computer to use the same IP address each time it powers up, this is known as a Static IP address. By contrast, in situations when the computer's IP address is assigned automatically, it is known as a Dynamic IP address.

Static IP addresses get manually assigned to a computer by an administrator. The exact procedure varies according to platform. This contrasts with dynamic IP addresses, which are assigned either randomly by the computer itself or assigned by a server using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Even though IP addresses assigned using DHCP may stay the same for long periods of time, they can generally change. In some cases, a network administrator may implement dynamically assigned static IP addresses. In this case, a DHCP server is used, but it is specifically configured to always assign the same IP address to a particular computer, and never to assign that IP address to another computer. This allows static IP addresses to be configured in one place, without having to specifically configure each computer on the network in a different way.

Costs for a Static IP address
All West Communications: $25.00 Setup & $10.00/month
Comcast:
Qwest: