Don’t Be In the Dark About IP Address Classes
When it comes to networking, the most common form of addressing used today is the Internet Protocol (IP) address. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of IP addresses. All devices that connect to the internet are assigned an IP address, including desktop computers, smartphones, tablets, routers, and other networked devices. These unique numerical addresses allow information to be sent from one device to another across the internet in a systematic way; without them, the entire internet would not exist as we know it today.
Class A
If you want to get a handle on Class A IP addresses, you need to understand binary. Every octet (8 bits) in a Class A address represents a decimal number between 0 and 127. The first bit is reserved for identifying the class, so it’s always 0. That leaves 7 bits, or 27 (128) possibilities, for each octet. So a Class A address can have any value from 00000000 to 01111111 in its first octet. You might recognize that as 128 values that represent the numbers zero through 127. The second octet of a Class A address has 256 possible values because there are 256 total values (0-255) that could be assigned to an 8-bit octet. It’s the same story with third and fourth octets: they have 256 possible values per octet, too.
Class B
An IP address class B address is a network identifier that allows a device to communicate with other devices on the same network. Class B addresses are made up of two octets, with the first octet being the network identifier and the second octet being the host identifier. The class B address range is 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.255.255, and there are 16,384 class B networks. Network identifiers for this class start with 128 or 172.
The maximum number of hosts per network is 254. Host identifiers for this class start with 129 or 173. The minimum number of host bits in an IP address is 8 (a class C). Class A addresses have 24 bits assigned to their network identifiers and 16 bits assigned to their host identifiers.
Class C
If you’re new to the world of IP addresses, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. After all, it’s just a string of numbers, right? WRONG. IP addresses are actually a vital part of keeping the internet running smoothly. Here’s a quick overview of Class C addresses They use 8 bits for the network portion and 24 bits for the host ID, which means that there are 2^8 * 2^24 possible combinations available (or 256). With this in mind, it makes sense that class C addresses were typically assigned to organizations with between 100 and 254 employees. And while they’re still used today by small businesses, they’ve been largely replaced by class A and B networks as companies grow in size.
Subnetting (or more) using VLSM
Subnetting is the process of dividing a network into smaller networks, called subnets. Subnetting allows you to better control traffic flow and security on your network. VLSM is a method of subnetting that allows you to use different subnet masks for different parts of your network. This can be helpful when you have different types of devices on your network that require different amounts of bandwidth or have different security needs. With VLSM, each part of your network can have its own default gateway (the router it sends data to), making it easier to manage and optimize the resources available on your network.
A more advanced method of subnetting is using Variable Length Subnet Masks (VLSMs). With this type of masking, you are able to assign a different subnet mask to each area within one classful address range.
Extended Class – Network Design and Administration
You’ve probably heard of an IP address before, but do you know what it is and why it’s important? An IP address is a unique identifier for a device on a network. It’s used to route traffic to and from devices, and each device on a network must have a unique IP address. There are four different classes of IP addresses: Class A, Class B, Class C, and Class D. Each class has a different range of values, and each value corresponds to a different host on the network.
