It is important to realise that the IP addresses of devices on your local network are not directly accessible from the internet.

These IP addresses are private, and are completely invisible from outside your local network, which is an example of a LAN (Local Area Network).

Your Internet Service Provider usually gives you a single public IP address. This address is part of the internet, which is an example of a WAN (Wide Area Network).

Your broadband router acts as a gateway between these two networks. It is responsible for forwarding messages that arrive at your public IP address to the appropriate computer on your local network. Your router is the only device on your network that has a public IP address as well as a private IP address.