4. IP Addressing and Subnetting

Question 1

What are the five classes of IP addresses and their ranges?

Answer 1

• Class A: 0.0.0.0 - 127.255.255.255
• Class B: 128.0.0.0 - 191.255.255.255
• Class C: 192.0.0.0 - 223.255.255.255
• Class D: 224.0.0.0 - 239.255.255.255 (Multicast)
• Class E: 240.0.0.0 - 255.255.255.255 (Experimental)

Question 2

What is the purpose of a subnet mask?

Answer 2

To divide an IP address into its network and host portions, enabling subnetting and efficient IP address management.

Question 3

What is the loopback address and its purpose?

Answer 3

The loopback address (127.0.0.1) is used to test the network stack of the local device.

Question 4

How does subnetting improve network efficiency?

Answer 4

By dividing a network into smaller subnetworks, reducing broadcast traffic and improving routing efficiency.

Question 5

Explain CIDR notation with an example.

Answer 5

CIDR notation represents subnet masks as /N, where N is the number of bits in the network portion. Example: 192.168.1.1/24.

Question 6

What is the difference between public and private IP addresses?

Answer 6

• Public IP addresses are globally routable on the internet.
• Private IP addresses are used within local networks and cannot be routed on the public internet.

Question 7

What is VLSM and why is it useful?

Answer 7

Variable Length Subnet Masking allows subnets of different sizes, optimizing IP address allocation.