Month: January 2026

What is an IP address and what part does it play in your domain?

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The internet is part of our daily life, but we often use concepts we are not completely savvy with. One of these is the IP address, a key element for domains to work properly. In this article we explain what an IP is, how it is connected to domain names and what the differences are between an IP for a domain and one for a device.

What is an IP address?

An IP address is a numerical tag that uniquely identifies a device or a service within the IT network. IP stands for Internet Protocol and identifies a device with a network to indicate its location so that information reaches the correct place.

Devices and servers communicate with each other using these addresses. The problem is that an IP is a sequence of numbers which is difficult to remember, for example: 79.153.31.135

This is why domain names were created, allowing people to navigate the internet with understandable names instead of numbers. As we explained in this article about DNS, servers for domain names act as “translators” between the domain name and its IP address.

The IP is not always the same

In many cases, the IP address is dynamic: the internet provider assigns you one when you connect and it can change the next time around. This means the IP does not identify the physical device, but the point of connection to the network during a specific session. Fixed IP addresses also exist but are not essential for habitual uses.

The domain of an IP and the IP of a device are not the same

While technically they are both IP addresses, their function is different.

A domain does not have its own IP but uses DNS to note one or more IP addresses that correspond to the servers where a service is hosted (a website, email address etc.).

For example: domini.barcelona a 63.32.184.65

Here, domini.barcelona is the easy name to remember 63.32.184.65 is the address of the server handling requests. A domain can note various IP addresses, and these can change without the domain name changing.

In contrast, the IP of a device identifies a specific machine within a network, such as a computer, a mobile or a router. This IP can be private (within the home or the office) or public (visible on the internet) and is often dynamic.

The key difference

·         The IP of a domain identifies a service.

·         The IP of a device identifies a physical service.

When you write a name in a browser, DNS translates it to an IP. Your device, with its own IP, contacts the servers, and this responds by showing content.

Why is it useful to understand this?

You don’t need to be a technical expert to manage a domain, but understanding basic concepts such as IP addresses helps towards a better grasp of how the internet works, knowing what happens when you change the host server and taking more informed decisions about your digital presence.

Domains, DNS and IP addresses form part of the invisible infrastructure that makes it possible to have your project accessible on the internet, every day.

A year of connections and learning for the .barcelona domain

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The new year is a good opportunity to look back, weigh up the work done and recharge our energy for what lies ahead. Last year was full of meetings, collaboration and spaces for sharing knowledge.

International meetings: ICANN and CENTR

The .barcelona domain was at the ICANN meeting in Seattle in March, which looked at key questions such as online crime and cybersecurity, matters that directly affect confidence on the internet and are essential for ensuring a safer and more stable digital ecosystem.

In May, the Jamboree at the CENTR in Lyon brought together experts and leaders in the domain sector from all over Europe. The meeting was conceived to exchange knowledge, share good practice and identify new opportunities for collaboration between registers, with a shared view to the future.

Language and community

September was a particularly active month. On one hand, we celebrated the European Day of Languages together with the .cat, .eus and .gal domains, with a special offer to register a .barcelona domain for €5, a move to favour linguistic diversity and digital identity on the internet.

That same month, the .barcelona domain also took part in the meeting by the GeoTLD Group in Holland, an occasion to share online linguistic and cultural diversity.

Last year was also a year of presence at home. At BizBarcelona we had the chance to discover holders of .barcelona domains and explain its advantages for emerging projects with city value.

Looking to 2026

Last year saw the start of the project “Assessing GeoTLD’s performance for enhanced Internet accessibility: An open source methodological approach”, headed by the .cat domain. This research project involves ten geoterritorial domains, including .barcelona, with the goal of developing open source methodology to analyse how traditional and AI-based search engines treat geographical and cultural domains.

The project was one of the 23 chosen from more than 200 presented to the ICANN, putting the .barcelona domain within research about the impact of artificial intelligence on the visibility of territorial domains. This will be a key project in 2026 and we will be explaining the main advances.

In October, the ICANN meeting in Dublin looked at the future of the internet. Registers, registration companies and institutional representatives met to discuss the main challenges for this sector, with an edition centring particularly on the new round of domains planned for 2026.

The .barcelona domain rounded off the year broadening its commercial network with thee new international registration companies: Namecheap, Spaceship and DomainName, a step allowing the domain to reach more people and giving the Barcelona brand an ever-increasing presence at an international level.All this has prepared us for a 2026 full of challenges. The domain will continue to work to strengthen the city’s digital identity and drive projects for the community.

A record half marathon!

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

The streets of Barcelona are set to fill with a festive atmosphere, entertainment and music on Sunday, 15 February 2026, with a new edition of the Half Marathon. The event sets a new record again with 36,000 people registered to take part, consolidating it as one of the world’s half marathons with the biggest turnout and an authentic festival of sport, shared by the whole city.

Jacob Kiplimo set a new men’s world record for this distance in the last edition, with a time of 56 minutes, 42 seconds, taking 48 seconds off the previous record. The time put Barcelona at the centre of the world athletics scene. The event also maintains its inclusive spirit, with women’s participation accounting for 40% and 95 nationalities represented.

With all places taken, the run will not be ending once runners cross the finish line: the period afterwards turns the occasion into a grand festival with concerts, making it an event for the whole city.

With the highest ever number of runners taking part and the world record for this distance still standing, the mitjamarato.barcelona becomes further established as a leading international event, essential for running fans.

Guided tours of La Model now daily

Posted on by Lluis Ouro

If you haven’t been yet, you now have a new chance to visit La Model and discover all the secrets of the former prison in the Esquerra de l’Eixample neighbourhood. There are tours every day of the week until 31 July, with an increase in the number of free places to look around the inside of the prison.

You do need to book on the website lamodel.barcelona for any of the following slots:

  • Mondays to Fridays: 5 pm (Catalan) and 5.30 pm (Spanish).
  • Saturdays: 11 am (Catalan), 11.30 am (Spanish), 5 pm (Catalan) and 5.30 pm (Spanish).
  • Sundays: 10.30 am (Catalan) and 12 noon (Spanish).

Bear in mind that the site is closed on public holidays! Besides these guided tours, you can also visit La Model without a guide on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, making your way freely around the corridors, cells and panoptic tower.

You can check the times on the website for La Model. The City Council also offers guided tours for schools, with routes and activities especially designed for students in their last two years of primary school, or in secondary school or sixth form.