A static IP address is an IP address that is manually configured for a device, rather than one assigned by a DHCP server. It is called static because it does not change, whereas a dynamic IP address does change.
Routers, phones, tablets, desktops, laptops, and any other device that can use an IP address can be configured to have a static IP address. This can be done by the device providing the IP address (like a router) or by manually entering the IP address into the device from the device itself.
A static IP address is sometimes also called a fixed IP address or a dedicated IP address.
Why use a static IP address?
Another way to think about a static IP address is to think about something like an email address or a physical home address. These addresses don't change — they're static — and it makes it easy to contact or find someone.
Likewise, static IP addresses are useful if you host a website at home, have a file server on your network, use a networked printer, forward ports to a specific device, run a print server, or use a remote access program. Because a static IP address never changes, other devices always know how to contact the device using that address.
For example, if you set up static IP addresses for computers on your home network, once a computer is bound to a specific address, you can set up the router to always forward certain inbound requests directly to that computer, such as FTP requests when the computer is sharing files via FTP.
For example, if you are hosting a website, not using a static IP address (using a dynamic IP that does change) is a pain because every new IP address your computer gets you have to change your router settings to forward requests to that new address. Neglecting to do this means no one can access your website because the router doesn't know which device in the network is the one serving the website.
Another example of using static IP addresses is DNS servers. DNS servers use static IP addresses so that devices always know how to connect to them. If they change frequently, you would have to periodically reconfigure these DNS servers on your router or computer to use the Internet.
Static IP addresses are also useful when a device's domain name is unreachable. For example, computers connected to a file server in a workplace network can be set up to always connect to the server using the server's static IP instead of its host name. Even if the DNS server goes down, computers can still access the file server because they communicate with it via the IP address.
For remote access applications such as Windows Remote Desktop, using a static IP address means that you can always access the computer using the same address. Using an IP address that changes requires you to know what it changes to so that you can connect remotely using that new address.
Static vs. Dynamic IP Addresses
The opposite of a static IP address, which does not change, is a dynamic IP address, which changes constantly. A dynamic IP address is a regular address like a static IP, but it is not permanently bound to a device. Instead, dynamic IP addresses are used for a specific period of time and then returned to the address pool so that other devices can use them.
When to use static IP addresses vs. dynamic IP addresses
This is one of the reasons why dynamic IP addresses are useful. If ISPs used static IP addresses for their customers, there would always be a limited supply of addresses for new customers. Dynamic addresses provide a way to reuse IP addresses when they are not in use elsewhere, thus providing internet access to more devices.
Static IP addresses limit downtime. When a dynamic address gets a new IP address, any users connected to the existing IP address are dropped from the connection and must wait for the new address to be found. This would not be a wise setup if the server hosted websites, file sharing services, or online video games, all of which typically require a constant active connection.
In a local network where you use private IP addresses, such as a home or business, most devices are probably configured for DHCP and therefore use dynamic IP addresses.
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