IP Address and Class Facts

IP addresses allow hosts to participate on IP based networks. An IP address:

• Is a 32-bit binary number represented as four octets (four 8-bit values). Each octet is separated by a period.
• IP addresses can be represented in one of two ways:
  • Decimal (for example 131.107.2.200). In decimal notation, each octet must be between 0 and 255.
  • Binary (for example 10000011.01101011.00000010.11001000). In binary notation, each octet is an 8-digit number.
• The IP address includes both the network and the host address.
• Each IP address has an implied address class that can be used to infer the network portion of the address.
• The subnet mask is a 32-bit number that is associated with each IP address that identifies the network portion of the address. In binary form, the subnet mask is always a series of 1's followed by a series of 0's (1's and 0's are never mixed in sequence in the mask). A simple mask might be 255.255.255.0. read more...