Server address

A server address is a unique number or name identifying a server. A server address may be a numeric IP address, although human-friendly names consisting of alphanumeric characters can also be given. Human-friendly names are converted into numeric addresses that computers understand by DNS servers dedicated to that purpose.

The uniqueness required of a server address is determined by its context. On Internet, there can be only one www.iana.org. However, thousands if not millions of different servers with the address 192.168.1.1 exist in private networks throughout the world in the form of DHCP servers embedded in broadband routers. The difference is in the organization of the Internet. The Internet can be thought of consisting of computers directly connected to the Internet itself, as well as several connected through private routers. The addresses in the private network must be unique, although the same addresses can be used in multiple different private networks.