User Manual

Version 3.03 SPEEDLAN 9000 Series Installation and Operation User Guide
9-2 Basics of IP Addressing
Basics of IP Addressing
IP Addressing is important because it tells the network how to locate the computers or
network equipment connected to it. IP addresses are given so each computer or
equipment on the network contains a unique address. In addition, network addresses
and node addresses, depending on the Class (A, B, C, etc.), contain their own unique
address as well. IP addressing provides the following information:
• Provides communication between different platforms and diverse systems
• Provides universal data transfer over large geographic distances
• Has been "adopted" as a standard in the computer industry
What is an IP address?
An IP address contains:
• Two sections: the network address and the node address (also known as the
host address)
• An IP address contains four octets.
The following examples show the conversion of the same IP address into several
different formats:
• Decimal (192.0.2.56)
• Hexadecimal (82.39.1E.38)
• Binary (10000010.00111001.00011110.00111000).
Internet Address Classes
Understanding this methodology is difficult, even for customers. Therefore, let's explain
this in easier terms. The first octet defines the "class" of the address, which is the only
method to tell the size of the network (how big) and where the internet address belongs.
There are three main classes:
• Class A: 35.0.0.0
• Class B: 128.5.0.0
• Class C: 192.0.2.0
-non-bolded text = Part of network address
-bolded text = Part of local address (node section)