Ip Addressing Scheme - RADVision L2W-323 User Manual

IP Addressing Scheme

The L2W-323 Gateway operates on an IP-based LAN. IP addresses are the addressing
mechanism of the TCP/IP protocol. The IP address is composed of a 32-bit packet
represented by four numbers between 0–255 separated by dots, for example: 192.36.20.198.
This numbering scheme is known as the dotted-decimal notation. The numbers specify the
class, network and host or node portion of the IP address.
IP addresses are divided into four different classes that differ according to the number of
bits allocated to the network and host parts of the address. The more bits allocated to the
network part, or the prefix, the fewer remain for the host part, or the suffix. While the prefix
is used to define unique network addresses, the suffix identifies the hosts on these networks.
The following figure illustrates the four address classes, the bits used to identify each class
and the prefix/suffix division of the address.
0
0
prefix
Class A
1 0
Class B
1 1 0
Class C
1 1 1 0
Class D
Figure 62 - IP address classes, their identifying bits and the prefix/suffix division
8 16
prefix
prefix
multicast address
24
suffix
suffix
suffix
31
C-1