Got IP? 🤔

Welcome to the friendliest IP address lesson on the web! ✨

🌍 💻 🔌

You're connected to a computer at:

📍 148.230.90.150

But you typed: ip.benlamb.net 🎯

🔢 Visit by IP Address 📝 Visit by Name (HTTP) 🔒 Visit by Name (HTTPS)

🤓 What's DNS? (The Internet's Phone Book!)

DNS stands for Domain Name System. It's like the contacts list on your phone! 📱

🏠 Think of it this way: You don't memorize your friend's phone number (like 555-123-4567). You just tap their name in your contacts! DNS does the same thing for websites - it turns friendly names into computer addresses.

How It Works (Super Simple!) 🎯

1️⃣ You type ip.benlamb.net (the friendly name)
2️⃣ DNS looks it up (like searching contacts)
3️⃣ DNS says "That's at 148.230.90.150!" (the actual address)
4️⃣ Your browser goes to that address 🚀

🎉 Fun Fact: Without DNS, you'd have to memorize numbers like 148.230.90.150 for every website! Imagine typing that for Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok! 😱

🏷️ What's an IP Address?

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is like a home address for computers on the internet! 🏠

📬 Real-world example: Just like mail needs your home address (123 Main Street), data on the internet needs an IP address to know where to go!

The Numbers Game 🎲

This server's IP is 148.230.90.150. That's four groups of numbers, each between 0 and 255. Why 255? That's a computer thing! 🤖

IPv4 = 4 groups of numbers (like 148.230.90.150)
IPv6 = The newer, longer version (we'll save that for another day! 😅)

🎭 The Name Game: Why Names Matter

When you visit a website, your browser whispers to the server: "Hey, I'm looking for ip.benlamb.net" 🤫

🏢 Apartment Building Analogy: One IP address can host multiple websites, like how one apartment building (IP) has many apartments (websites). The name tells the server which "apartment" you want to visit!

Try This! 🧪

Click the buttons above to visit this site different ways. Notice how the HTTPS version (with the 🔒) is secure, while visiting by raw IP might show security warnings!

💡 Quick Review - You've Learned:

✅ DNS = Internet's phone book 📖
✅ IP Address = Computer's home address 🏠
✅ Domain Name = Friendly name humans can remember 🧠
✅ HTTPS = Secure connection (always look for the 🔒)

🎉 🎊 🥳

Congrats! You're now DNS-smart! 🎓