What is an IP address? An IP address source (Internet Protocol address) is a unique number that devices use in order to identify and communicate with each other on a computer network utilizing the Internet Protocol standard (IP).

Any participating network device — including routers, computers, time-servers, printers, Internet fax machines, and some telephones — must have its own unique address.

An IP address can also be thought of as the equivalent of a street address or a phone number (compare: VoIP) for a computer or other network device on the internet.

Just as each street address and phone number uniquely identifies a building or telephone, an IP address can uniquely identify a specific computer or other network device on a network. ~Wikipedia.org