Is $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] always isset()?

Question

I want to store ip2logn($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']) values in the db for some reason.

Practically, as I see, $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] always has a value. Could anybody confirm it is always set for any user and can't be not set by any reason?

The reason I ask it is to be sure I should choose NOT NULL instead of DEFAULT NULL for the column in MySQL Table.

So, I can store ipaddressvarchar(15) NOT NULL (yes, NOT null) or ip2longaddress int(11) NOT NULL, and the second option is, as I understand, the most preferable.

Thank you.

ip2long won't work for IPv6 addresses, so better have an option for empty value in the database. — Maxim Krizhanovsky, Nov 18 '11 at 19:05
> Could anybody confirm it is always set for any user yes. I can. — Your Common Sense, Nov 18 '11 at 19:11

score 20 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 18 '11 at 19:55

20

It will only be set if you're running the script through a webserver. If you're running PHP in CLI (command line) mode, REMOTE_ADDR will not be set, as there is no remote address for a command line script.

answered Nov 18 '11 at 19:55

Marc B

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When I run tests, `$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']` "`isset()`" but with `null`. I *think* there is no need to surround it with `isset()` – Samuel Gfeller Mar 04 '21 at 13:51

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 18 '11 at 19:09

2

$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] is always set even if you are working on localhost and can't be unset except you programmatically removed it And if you saved it in INT there would be no dots so you should save it as varchar

answered Nov 18 '11 at 19:09

Seder

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score -1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 18 '11 at 19:12

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$_SERVER vars are ALWAYS SET. Well, unless you have some odd php setup.

answered Nov 18 '11 at 19:12

frustratedtech

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Don't say for all vars. -1 if I could – Your Common Sense Nov 18 '11 at 19:14
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@David: `REQUEST_URI` isn't set when run in CLI mode, for one. $_SERVER itself is always present, but its contents depend entirely on the operating environment. – Marc B Nov 18 '11 at 19:56
all HTTP_* vars are set based in request headers and any of them can be absent. and some other are depends on the server setup. – Your Common Sense Nov 18 '11 at 20:49

Is $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] always isset()?

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