Comment on Phones have unique phone numbers, why dont computers have unique computer-numbers?
jeffhykin@lemm.ee 7 months agoSure, change the title to say “phones have unique phone number (b/c sim cards), why don’t computers have an equivalent?”
With VOIP I can get phone calls even without cell service, even behind a NAT. Why is the network designed in such a way where that is possible, but I can’t buy an address that will persist across networks endpoint changes (e.g. new wifi connection) such that I can initiate a connection to my laptop while it is behind a NAT.
All you have to do is buy your own IP, and you can use it whenever you want. You don’t have to use one given to you by the upstream gateway via DHCP or BootP.
Of course, you need to make sure the upstream router is configured to not drop addresses it didn’t assign itself.
Even paying for a static IP its not like a phone number which is discoverable behind a NAT without extra router configuration.
Have you ever tried roaming with a cellphone…?
Yep, and I can verify my phone number didnt change when roaming, people could still call me.
That’s like saying “why isn’t my phone number that I set up on my own POTS network usable on the international telephone system?”
If you’re behind NAT, you aren’t technically on the Internet; that’s why you need Network Address Translation in the first place.
IPv6 fixes this by letting every conceivable device have its own address on the Internet, but that comes with its own security and privacy issues, so it’s rarely used.
For the laptop thing you realistically could by a WAN IP per device, itd just be expensivr and also a massive security issue DMZ’ing all your devices
Cool, I’ll have to look that up!
SchmidtGenetics@lemmy.world 7 months ago
Static IP
jeffhykin@lemm.ee 7 months ago
AFAIK static public facing IP addresses are limited to a physical location. It would work if my laptop never left my house but as soon as I take it to the airport its no longer accessible. People who try to connect to the static Iap would just get a message saying the address timed out.
mbfalzar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 months ago
I’ve got a VPN set up on my home server so when I leave the house, my public IP is still the same on my laptop as it is at home. If you’ve got people sending you messages directly via IP why wouldn’t you just set that up?
jeffhykin@lemm.ee 7 months ago
Thats a valid solution, thanks for saying it!
I think it is good to note this requires either having another system at home or in the cloud to host the VPN right?