IPFS vs HTTP: Does the Decentralized Web Need IP Addresses?

Introduction: Finding Content, Not Computers

In the traditional web (HTTP), you use an IP address or domain to find a specific computer (like a library), and then ask for a file. But what if that library burns down? The file is gone. IPFS (InterPlanetary File System) changes this. Instead of finding a computer, you search for the file's unique fingerprint, and any computer in the world that has it can send it to you.

Content Addressing vs. Location Addressing

IP addresses are 'Location Addressing'—they tell you *where* something is. IPFS uses 'Content Addressing'. It doesn't care where the file is. Because of this, IPFS works as a massive Peer-to-Peer network. You might download different pieces of a video from ten different computers located across five different countries simultaneously.

Conclusion

While IPFS nodes still use IP addresses to talk to each other under the hood, the user experience completely abstracts them away. It is the first step toward an indestructible internet. Test your peer-to-peer connection here.