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Page 56 / 88 Scroll up to view Page 51 - 55
User Manual for the NETGEAR WGE111 Wireless Game Adapter
B-2
Understanding IP Addresses
Figure 5-1:
Three Main Address Classes
The five address classes are:
•
Class A
Class A addresses can have up to 16,777,214 hosts on a single network. They use an eight-bit
network number and a 24-bit node number. Class A addresses are in this range:
1.x.x.x to 126.x.x.x.
•
Class B
Class B addresses can have up to 65,354 hosts on a network. A Class B address uses a 16-bit
network number and a 16-bit node number. Class B addresses are in this range:
128.1.x.x to 191.254.x.x.
•
Class C
Class C addresses can have 254 hosts on a network. Class C addresses use 24 bits for the
network address and eight bits for the node. They are in this range:
192.0.1.x to 223.255.254.x.
•
Class D
Class D addresses are used for multicasts (messages sent to many hosts). Class D addresses are
in this range:
224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255.
Class A
Network
Node
Class B
Class C
Network
Node
Network
Node
Page 57 / 88
User Manual for the NETGEAR WGE111 Wireless Game Adapter
Understanding IP Addresses
B-3
•
Class E
Class E addresses are for experimental use.
This addressing structure allows IP addresses to uniquely identify each physical network and each
node on each physical network.
For each unique value of the network portion of the address, the base address of the range (host
address of all zeros) is known as the network address and is not usually assigned to a host. Also,
the top address of the range (host address of all ones) is not assigned, but is used as the broadcast
address for simultaneously sending a packet to all hosts with the same network address.
Netmask
In each of the address classes previously described, the size of the two parts (network address and
host address) is implied by the class. This partitioning scheme can also be expressed by a netmask
associated with the IP address. A netmask is a 32-bit quantity that, when logically combined (using
an AND operator) with an IP address, yields the network address. For instance, the netmasks for
Class A, B, and C addresses are 255.0.0.0, 255.255.0.0, and 255.255.255.0, respectively.
For example, the address 192.168.170.237 is a Class C IP address whose network portion is the
upper 24 bits. When combined (using an AND operator) with the Class C netmask, as shown here,
only the network portion of the address remains:
11000000
10101000
10101010
11101101 (192.168.170.237)
combined with:
11111111
11111111
11111111
00000000 (255.255.255.0)
Equals:
11000000
10101000
10101010
00000000 (192.168.170.0)
As a shorter alternative to dotted-decimal notation, the netmask may also be expressed in terms of
the number of ones from the left. This number is appended to the IP address, following a backward
slash (/), as “/n.” In the example, the address could be written as 192.168.170.237/24, indicating
that the netmask is 24 ones followed by 8 zeros.
Page 58 / 88
User Manual for the NETGEAR WGE111 Wireless Game Adapter
B-4
Understanding IP Addresses
Subnet Addressing
By looking at the addressing structures, you can see that even with a Class C address, there are a
large number of hosts per network. Such a structure is an inefficient use of addresses if each end of
a routed link requires a different network number. It is unlikely that the smaller office LANs would
have that many devices. You can resolve this problem by using a technique known as subnet
addressing.
Subnet addressing allows us to split one IP network address into smaller multiple physical
networks known as subnetworks. Some of the node numbers are used as a subnet number instead.
A Class B address gives us 16 bits of node numbers translating to 64,000 nodes. Most
organizations do not use 64,000 nodes, so there are free bits that can be reassigned. Subnet
addressing makes use of those bits that are free, as shown below.
Figure 5-2:
Example of Subnetting a Class B Address
A Class B address can be effectively translated into multiple Class C addresses. For example, the
IP address of 172.16.0.0 is assigned, but node addresses are limited to 255 maximum, allowing
eight extra bits to use as a subnet address. The IP address of 172.16.97.235 would be interpreted as
IP network address 172.16, subnet number 97, and node number 235. In addition to extending
the number of addresses available, subnet addressing provides other benefits. Subnet addressing
allows a network manager to construct an address scheme for the network by using different
subnets for other geographical locations in the network or for other departments in the
organization.
Although the preceding example uses the entire third octet for a subnet address, note that you are
not restricted to octet boundaries in subnetting. To create more network numbers, you need only
shift some bits from the host address to the network address. For instance, to partition a Class C
network number (192.68.135.0) into two, you shift one bit from the host address to the network
address. The new netmask (or subnet mask) is 255.255.255.128. The first subnet has network
number 192.68.135.0 with hosts 192.68.135.1 to 129.68.135.126, and the second subnet has
network number 192.68.135.128 with hosts 192.68.135.129 to 192.68.135.254.
7262
Class B
Network
Subnet
Node
Page 59 / 88
User Manual for the NETGEAR WGE111 Wireless Game Adapter
Understanding IP Addresses
B-5
The following table lists the additional subnet mask bits in dotted-decimal notation. To use the
table, write down the original class netmask and replace the 0 value octets with the dotted-decimal
value of the additional subnet bits. For example, to partition your Class C network with subnet
mask 255.255.255.0 into 16 subnets (4 bits), the new subnet mask becomes 255.255.255.240.
The following table displays several common netmask values in both the dotted-decimal and the
masklength formats.
Note:
The number 192.68.135.127 is not assigned because it is the broadcast address
of the first subnet. The number 192.68.135.128 is not assigned because it is the network
address of the second subnet.
Table 5-1.
Netmask Notation Translation Table for One Octet
Number of Bits
Dotted-Decimal Value
1
128
2
192
3
224
4
240
5
248
6
252
7
254
8
255
Table 5-2.
Netmask Formats
Dotted-Decimal
Masklength
255.0.0.0
/8
255.255.0.0
/16
255.255.255.0
/24
255.255.255.128
/25
255.255.255.192
/26
255.255.255.224
/27
255.255.255.240
/28
255.255.255.248
/29
Page 60 / 88
User Manual for the NETGEAR WGE111 Wireless Game Adapter
B-6
Understanding IP Addresses
NETGEAR strongly recommends that you configure all hosts on a LAN segment to use the same
netmask for the following reasons:
•
So that hosts recognize local IP broadcast packets.
When a device broadcasts to its segment neighbors, it uses a destination address of the local
network address with all ones for the host address. In order for this scheme to work, all devices
on the segment must agree on which bits comprise the host address.
•
So that a local router or bridge recognizes which addresses are local and which are remote.
Private IP Addresses
If your networks are isolated from the Internet (for example, only between your two branch
offices), you can assign any IP addresses to the hosts without problems. However, the IANA has
reserved the following three blocks of IP addresses specifically for private networks:
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255
NETGEAR recommends that you choose your private network number from this range.
NETGEAR products default to 192.168.0.xxx or 192.168.1.1.
Regardless of your particular situation, do not create an arbitrary IP address; always follow the
guidelines explained here. For more information about address assignment, refer to RFC 1597,
Address Allocation for Private Internets,
and RFC 1466,
Guidelines for Management of IP
Address Space
. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) publishes RFCs on its Web site at
www.ietf.org
.
255.255.255.252
/30
255.255.255.254
/31
255.255.255.255
/32
Table 5-2.
Netmask Formats

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