What does 'IP Address in Place of URL' refer to?

What does 'IP Address in Place of URL' refer to?

• A. Not always possible due to servers running multiple sites with the same IP address
• B. A technique for testing firewall vulnerability
• C. An IDS tactic
• D. A proxy server

Answer: (A)

Using an IP address instead of a URL to reach a website hinges on how web servers host sites. Many servers run multiple sites on a single IP using name-based virtual hosting, which relies on the Host header in the HTTP request to decide which site to serve. If you type only an IP address, the request may not specify the intended domain, so the server might default to a generic site or return an error. That’s why it’s not always possible to replace a URL with just the IP—the server configuration determines whether it can route you to the correct site. For HTTPS, this is even more problematic because certificates are tied to domain names, so accessing by IP typically fails certificate checks unless the certificate explicitly covers that IP, which is uncommon.

Using an IP address instead of a URL to reach a website hinges on how web servers host sites. Many servers run multiple sites on a single IP using name-based virtual hosting, which relies on the Host header in the HTTP request to decide which site to serve. If you type only an IP address, the request may not specify the intended domain, so the server might default to a generic site or return an error. That’s why it’s not always possible to replace a URL with just the IP—the server configuration determines whether it can route you to the correct site. For HTTPS, this is even more problematic because certificates are tied to domain names, so accessing by IP typically fails certificate checks unless the certificate explicitly covers that IP, which is uncommon.