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IPv4 Addressing and Subnetting

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IPv4 Addressing and Subnetting

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Xtylish Boy Xtylish Boy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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IPv4 Addressing and Subnetting

Learning Objectives
 Understand the IPv4 address format and classes
 Differentiate between classful and classless addressing
 Use CIDR notation to calculate the number of hosts
 Subnet a network and find valid host and broadcast addresses
 Apply IP addressing in real-world network design scenarios

What is an IP Address?
An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique identifier for each device on a
network, similar to a house address in a city. It allows devices to locate and communicate
with each other.

Example:

192.168.1.10 → A device connected to a local Wi-Fi network

IPv4 Address Format


 IPv4 uses 32 bits, divided into 4 octets (or bytes).
 Each octet is 8 bits long.
 Values in each octet range from 0 to 255.
 Example IP: 192.168.0.1 → This is a typical private IP address.

Each IP address consists of:

 Network Portion – identifies the network


 Host Portion – identifies the specific device on that network

IP Address Classes (Classful Addressing)


Historically, IP addresses were divided into classes (A–E), based on the first octet. Though
classful addressing is obsolete, understanding it helps grasp networking concepts.
First Octet Default Subnet
Class Binary Prefix Typical Use
Range Mask
A 0 – 127 Starts with 0 255.0.0.0 (/8) Large organizations
B 128 – 191 Starts with 10 255.255.0.0 (/16) Universities, ISPs
Starts with Small businesses, home
C 192 – 223 255.255.255.0 (/24)
110 networks
Starts with
D 224 – 239 N/A Multicast communication
1110
Starts with
E 240 – 255 N/A Experimental, research
1111

Special Address:
127.0.0.1 is called the loopback address. It points to your own device and is used for
testing.

Limitations of Classful Addressing


Class A and B blocks are too large and wasteful. Class C blocks are too small for medium
organizations. To solve this, we use CIDR.

CIDR – Classless Inter-Domain Routing


CIDR replaces classful addressing by allowing flexible division of IP space.

CIDR Notation

 Format: IP_address/prefix_length
Example: 192.168.1.0/24
 /24 means the first 24 bits are for the network; the remaining bits are for hosts.

Prefix Table

CIDR Subnet Mask Host Bits Total IPs Usable Hosts


/30 255.255.255.252 2 4 2
/29 255.255.255.248 3 8 6
/28 255.255.255.240 4 16 14
/27 255.255.255.224 5 32 30
/26 255.255.255.192 6 64 62
CIDR Subnet Mask Host Bits Total IPs Usable Hosts
/25 255.255.255.128 7 128 126
/24 255.255.255.0 8 256 254

Note: Always subtract 2 from total IPs to get usable hosts:

 1 reserved for network address


 1 reserved for broadcast address

Example: CIDR vs Classful


Let’s say we need 400 IPs for an institute.

Option 1 – Classful

Class B → /16 → 65,534 usable IPs


Enough, but Wasteful (over 65,000 unused)

Option 2 – CIDR

What prefix gives us ≥ 400 IPs?

 Try /23 → 9 host bits → 2^9 = 512 total IPs → 510 usable
Best fit
Assign: 192.168.0.0/23

Type Value
Network 192.168.0.0
Broadcast 192.168.1.255
Usable Range 192.168.0.1 – 192.168.1.254

Subnetting Basics
Subnetting is dividing one large network into smaller logical networks.

Why Subnet?

 Efficient IP usage
 Improved security and isolation
 Reduces network congestion
Subnetting Example – Divide into 4 Subnets
Given:

Network: 192.168.1.0/24
Goal: Create 4 equal subnets

Step 1: Determine Bits to Borrow

 4 subnets → 2^n ≥ 4 → n = 2 bits

Step 2: New Subnet Mask

 Original: /24 → Borrow 2 bits → New = /26


 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.192
o 192 in binary = 11000000

Step 3: Subnet Blocks (Using Block Increments)

Each /26 subnet has 2^6 = 64 IP addresses


So the block size is 64

Subnet # Network Address Broadcast Address Usable IPs


1 192.168.1.0 192.168.1.63 192.168.1.1 – 192.168.1.62
2 192.168.1.64 192.168.1.127 192.168.1.65 – 192.168.1.126
3 192.168.1.128 192.168.1.191 192.168.1.129 – 192.168.1.190
4 192.168.1.192 192.168.1.255 192.168.1.193 – 192.168.1.254

Block increment = 64, so each subnet starts at previous network + 64.

Subnetting Example – Class B Network


Given:

Network: 172.16.0.0/16 (Class B)


Goal: Divide into 16 equal subnets
Step 1: Determine Bits to Borrow

We want 16 subnets.

 Formula: 2^n ≥ 16
 n = 4 bits (since 2⁴ = 16)

Step 2: New Subnet Mask

Original: /16
Borrow 4 bits → New = /20
New subnet mask: 255.255.240.0

Explanation:

 In binary, the 4 borrowed bits are in the 3rd octet


 240 in binary: 11110000

Step 3: Subnet Blocks

Each /20 subnet = 2^(32–20) = 4096 IPs


Usable hosts per subnet: 4096 – 2 = 4094

 Block increment = 4096


 In the 3rd octet, 4096 IPs means incrementing by 16 (because 4096 = 16 × 256)

Subnet # Network Address Broadcast Address Usable IPs


1 172.16.0.0 172.16.15.255 172.16.0.1 – 172.16.15.254
2 172.16.16.0 172.16.31.255 172.16.16.1 – 172.16.31.254
3 172.16.32.0 172.16.47.255 172.16.32.1 – 172.16.47.254
4 172.16.48.0 172.16.63.255 172.16.48.1 – 172.16.63.254
... ... ... ...
16 172.16.240.0 172.16.255.255 172.16.240.1 – 172.16.255.254

Block increment = 16 in the third octet


Subnetting Example – Class A Network
Given:

Network: 10.0.0.0/8 (Class A)


Goal: Create 256 subnets

Step 1: Determine Bits to Borrow

We need 256 subnets

 2^n ≥ 256 → n = 8 bits

Step 2: New Subnet Mask

Original: /8
Borrow 8 bits → New = /16
New subnet mask: 255.255.0.0

Explanation:

 Borrowing 8 bits adds a whole octet to the network portion

Step 3: Subnet Blocks

Each /16 subnet contains:

 216=65,536 total IPs


 Usable IPs = 65,536−2=65,534 (subtracting 1 for network address, 1 for broadcast
address)

Each new subnet is incremented by 1 in the second octet (because the third and fourth
octets remain within each block of 65,536 addresses).

Subnet # Network Address Broadcast Address Usable IPs


1 10.0.0.0 10.0.255.255 10.0.0.1 – 10.0.255.254
2 10.1.0.0 10.1.255.255 10.1.0.1 – 10.1.255.254
3 10.2.0.0 10.2.255.255 10.2.0.1 – 10.2.255.254
Subnet # Network Address Broadcast Address Usable IPs
4 10.3.0.0 10.3.255.255 10.3.0.1 – 10.3.255.254
... ... ... ...
256 10.255.0.0 10.255.255.255 10.255.0.1 – 10.255.255.254

Home Network Example


Your home router might use:

 Network: 192.168.0.0/24
 Devices (laptop, phones): 192.168.0.1 – 192.168.0.254
 Router’s IP: 192.168.0.1
 Broadcast: 192.168.0.255

Practice Problems
Question:
Subnet the network 192.168.10.0/24 into 8 subnets.

Instructions:

 Write the new subnet mask


 List the network, broadcast, and usable IP range for each subnet

Question:
Subnet the network 172.16.0.0/16 into 16 subnets.

Instructions:

 Write the new subnet mask.


 List the network, broadcast, and usable IP range for each subnet.

Question:
Subnet the network 10.0.0.0/8 into 64 subnets.

Instructions:

 Write the new subnet mask.


 List the network, broadcast, and usable IP range for each subnet.

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