How-to obtain the IP address of your system

This article will describe how to obtain the IP address of your computer

What is an IP Address?

An IP Address is an identifier that allow your computer to communicate with other computers on a network.

The address can be public (internet routable) or private (only local network access), typically private IP addresses at SEAS look like this: 10.243.XX.XXX

The network configuration on your computer should be set to Dynamic so that our servers give you an available unique IP

There are two types of IP address, IPv4 and IPv6, for the purposes of this article, please assume that any mention of IP is equivalent to IPv4 and vice-versa.

Step-by-step guide for Windows Systems

Windows 7 and 8

1. Click on the "Start Menu"/Hit the windows Key
   
2. Click on "Control Panel" (on the right column of the menu)
3. Go to "Network and Sharing Center"
4. Click the link "Local Area Connection Status" by the connection you want to examine (right of the window)
5. 
6. Click on Details and locate the item labeled IPv4 Address.

Windows 10

1. Open the "Settings app"
2. Go to Network & Internet
   
   1. Click on WiFi if you want the IP address from a wireless card
   2. Click on Ethernet if you want the IP address from a wired card
3. Click on the network name to see its properties.
4. On the next page, you will find the IP for that network card.

Generic for all Windows (command line)

1. Hit the "Windows Key" from the keyboard (close to the space bar) and the letter "R" (i.e. Windows + R)
2. Once the Execute window, type "cmd"
3. Once the black "cmd" window is open, type : "ipconfig" and search for IPv4 Address field

Step-by-step guide for Mac OS Systems

The Graphical way

1. Click on the Apple icon on the top left corner of your screen and find "System Preferences".

2. Click on Network
3. Select your connection from the left frame.
   1. Choose the device you use to connect to the network:
      1.  Thunderbolt Ethernet
      2. Usb Ethernet
      3. Built-in Ethernet
4. You should see the IP address on that main screen

The Command line way

1. Click on the magnifier at the top right corner (spotlight search) (command + space bar )

2. On the new window, type terminal

3. On the terminal type ifconfig -a

4. Look for your active network connection, it will contain the IP address

Step-by-step guide for Linux Systems

The Command line way

1. Open a terminal

2. Type ifconfig -a and look for the IP address