NETGEAR PS100 manual Appendix B Understanding IP Addresses, IP Addresses and the Internet

NetGear Print Server Manual

Appendix B Understanding IP Addresses

This appendix provides information about understanding IP addresses, which you must assign to the NETGEAR PS100 series Print Sever when operating in

a TCP/IP environment.

IP Addresses and the Internet

Because TCP/IP networks are interconnected widely across the world, every machine on the Internet must have a unique address to make sure that transmitted data reaches the correct destination. Blocks of addresses are assigned to organizations by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

Individual users and small organizations may obtain their addresses either from the IANA or from an Internet service provider (ISP).

The Internet Protocol (IP) uses a 32-bit address structure. The address is usually written in dot notation (also called dotted-decimal notation), in which each group of eight bits is written in decimal form, separated by decimal points. For example, the binary address:

11000011 00100010 00001100 00000111

is normally written as:

195.34.12.7

which is easier to remember and easier to enter into your computer.

In addition, the 32 bits of the address are subdivided into two parts. The first part of the address identifies the network, and the second part identifies the host node or station on the network. The dividing point may vary depending on the address range and the application.

There are five standard classes of IP addresses. These address classes have different ways of determining the network and host sections of the address, allowing for different numbers of hosts on a network. Each address type begins with a unique bit pattern, which is used by the TCP/IP software to identify the address class. After the address class has been determined, the software can correctly identify the host section of the address. The three main address classes are illustrated below, which shows the network and host sections of the address for each address type.

Three Main Address Classes

Class A addresses can have up to 16,777,214 hosts on a single network. They use an 8-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.

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