IT 108 Or GS/IT 109: Technology in The Information Age

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IP Addressing and Its Major Classes

IP addressing is a unique component of modern computer networking that recognizes a device on the net or local network. It comprises a series of numbers diffrentated by periods, and it identifies the connection and the specific device within a given network (Dooley, 2021). IP addressing has two versions, that is, IP version 4(IPv4), which is the older and mostly used version in the globe and the other version is IP version 6 (IPv6), the newer and more advanced version (Dooley, 2021). It is divided into classes based on the range of numbers used in the address. The classes are five: A, B, C, D, and E, where each class has its different range of numbers used for other purposes.

Class A IP addresses are mainly used in large networks such as those used by large corporations or government agencies. The first component of a class A address is reserved for the network address, while the last three parts are used to identify specific devices on the network. Therefore, this class uses numbers ranging from 1.0.0.0 to 126.0.0.0 (Williams, 2023). Class B IP addresses are mainly used for medium-sized networks, for example, in universities or large businesses. The first two parts of this class are for the network address, while the last two are commonly used for identifying specific network devices. The class numbers range from 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.0.0 (Williams, 2023). Class B provides a more extensive range of possible addresses than class A, making it suitable for networks with more than 65,000 devices.

Class C IP addresses are mainly recognized in minor networks, small businesses, offices and home networks. This class uses 24 bits for the network portion, and 8 bits for the host portion. This allows up to 256 standard network addresses and devices on each given network. The first three octets of this class serve as the network address identifier; the last part is for identifying any specific device on the same network. Numbers for this class range from 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0. Class C is most commonly used as it provides enough addresses to accommodate most small organizations and is easy to manage and allocate (Williams, 2023).

Class D IP addresses are used in sending messages to a group of devices on the same network, referred to as multicasting. The first part of this address is used to identify the multicast group, while the last part is used to determine the specific device within that group. This class ranges from numbers 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 (Williams, 2023). Finally, we have class E IP addresses commonly reserved for experimental purposes and not used on public networks. They are not used in public networks include; they are reserved for future use, for experiment only, and have limited availability (Williams, 2023).

In addition to the five classes, other private IP addresses are used on private networks. They include those used in homes and businesses; hence personal IP addresses cannot be routable on the internet (Dooley, 2021). Therefore, they cannot connect to devices on other networks....