Dynamically Obtaining an IP Address

All devices on a network have a 4 byte IPv4 address (134.50.165.1) which helps to identify them on the network. There are two types of IP address that a system can have based on how it obtains them.  

1. Static IP: It is configured by your system administrator and the configuration is persistent.

2. Dynamic IP: It is assigned via Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automatically from a pool of IP addresses when your computer connects to the network.

Sometimes you'll need to switch between a Static or Dynamic IP address. In order to do this, follow the directions below: 

1. You'll need to access the Control Panel on your Windows Computer

2. Click on Network and Internet 

3. Click on Network and Sharing Center

4. Click on Ethernet. It will have a blue font, and is near the top right of the picture above. 

5. The left window will appear, then click on Properties, to open up the window on the right.  Then, double click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Then you'll have the Internet Protocol Version 4 Properties Window appear, like the window on the left below:

 From the window on the left, you should now be able to configure a Static IP Address or DNS Server. In the picture on the left above, IP and DNS are both set to be obtained automatically.