Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
IP addresses are described as consisting of two groups of bits in the address: the most significant bits are the network prefix, which identifies a whole network or subnet, and the least significant set forms the host identifier, which specifies a particular interface of a host on that network. This division is used as the basis of traffic ...
IP addresses are assigned to a host either dynamically as they join the network, or persistently by configuration of the host hardware or software. Persistent configuration is also known as using a static IP address. In contrast, when a computer's IP address is assigned each time it restarts, this is known as using a dynamic IP address.
Thus, for a Class C address with 8 bits available in the host field, the maximum number of hosts is 254. Today, IP addresses are associated with a subnet mask. This was not required in a classful network because the mask was implied by the address itself; any network device would inspect the first few bits of the IP address to determine the ...
Since the introduction of CIDR, however, the assignment of an IP address to a network interface requires two parameters, the address and a subnet mask. Given an IPv4 source address, its associated subnet mask, and the destination address, a router can determine whether the destination is on a locally connected network or a remote network.
Used for loopback addresses to the local host [1] 169.254.0.0/16 169.254.0.0–169.254.255.255 65 536: Subnet Used for link-local addresses [5] between two hosts on a single link when no IP address is otherwise specified, such as would have normally been retrieved from a DHCP server 172.16.0.0/12 172.16.0.0–172.31.255.255 1 048 576: Private ...
Network address translation between a private network and the Internet. Network address translation (NAT) is a method of mapping an IP address space into another by modifying network address information in the IP header of packets while they are in transit across a traffic routing device. [1]
IP routing assumes that network addresses are structured and that similar addresses imply proximity within the network. Structured addresses allow a single routing table entry to represent the route to a group of devices. In large networks, structured addressing (routing, in the narrow sense) outperforms unstructured addressing (bridging).
The network with the longest subnet mask or network prefix that matches the destination IP address is the next-hop network gateway. The process repeats until a packet is delivered to the destination host, or earlier along the route, when a router has no default route available and cannot route the packet otherwise.