Let us know what an IP address is first, if you already know, skip this section.
IP (Internet Protocol):
It is one of the fundamental protocols in order to have communications on the Internet. IP describes how the information is addressed, routed by networking devices. An IP address is a number identifying of a computer or another device on the Internet. A simple example could be mailing address.
There are 2 types of IP
1. IPv4 : 32 bit long, Ex: 35.244.11.196
2. IPv6 : 128 bit long, it is so much longer than IPv4
Example for IPv4 :
1. Dotted Decimal Notation
IPv4: 32 bit long ( Dotted Decimal )
2. Hexadecimal Notation
IPv4: 32 bit long ( Hexadecimal )
CLASS ADDRESSING :
- So, In IPv4 addressing, there are 5 classes to range IP Values : Class A, B, C, D and E.
- The order of bits in the first octet determine the classes of IP address.
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IPv4 address is divided into two parts:
1. Network ID
2. Host ID - The class can determine the bits used for network ID and host ID.
- The number of total networks and hosts possible in that particular class can be calculated.
- Only class A, B and C are commonly used. classes D and E are reserved classes, D for multicast groups and E for future purposes.
CLASS A :
- IP address belonging to class A are assigned to the networks that contain a large number of hosts. Here, class A can support 16 million hosts on 127 networks.
- Here, the network ID is 8 bits long and the host ID is 24 bits long.
- IP addresses belonging to class A ranges from 1.x.x.x – 126.x.x.x
- Default Subnet Mask: 255.x.x.x
Number Of Hosts and Networks:
Number of Hosts: (2^24)-2= 16,777,214 i.e. 16 million hosts
Number of Networks: (2^7)-2=126
Note: Reducing 2 because, 0.0.0.0 and 127.a.b.c are different addresses
>> The range of class A is 1.0.0.1 to 126.255.255.254
Class B: 128.0.0.1 – 191.255.255.254
Class C: 192.0.0.1 – 223.255.255.254
Class D: 224.0.0.1 – 239.255.255.254
Class E: 240.0.0.1 – 255.255.255.254