TCP/IP Addressing and

Subnetting
an excerpt from:
A Technical Introduction to
TCP/IP Internals
Presentation Copyright 1995 TGV Software, Inc.

IP Addressing Roadmap
Format of IP Addresses
Traditional Class Networks
Network Masks
Subnetting
Supernetting
Special IP Addresses

Slide 2

IP Addresses
All IP interfaces have IP addresses
Each IP interface must have its own unique
IP address
Internally, this is represented as a 32-bit
number of 0s and 1s
IP addresses consist of two parts
network identification
host identification

Slide 3

Breaking it up into network

number and host is key
32 bits
1-30 bits
Network Part

Slide 4

2-31 bits
Host Part

We care because thats

how we do routing
IP routing is based on a simple next hop
model:
Is the destination address ON my network or
NOT?
If it is ON my network, send it directly
If it is NOT on my network, send it via a router

To match network numbers, you must know

what part is network and what part is host

Slide 5

Representing IP Addresses
There are several ways the IP address can
be represented
32 bit number of 0s and 1s
10100001 00101100 11000000 00000001

four decimal numbers separated by dots

161.44.192.1

hexadecimal representation
9D.2C.BC.01

Slide 6

Traditional Network Class

Addresses
The first dotted quad value identifies the
network class and how much of the IP
address is the network identifier
Class A Networks (first number between 1-127)
Class B Networks (first number between 128-191)
Class C Networks (first number between 192-223)

There are also some special IP addresses

which are defined in a different way
Class D Networks (first number between 224-239)
for IP multicast

Class E Networks (first number between 240-255)

for Landmark routing
Slide 7

This is due to a clever hack

by the IP authors

0
10
1 10
Slide 8

Class A Address
Network = 8 bits
Host = 24 bits
Class B Address
Network = 16 bits
Host = 16 bits
Class C Address
Network = 24 bits
Host = 8 bits

Assigning Network
Numbers
Network numbers imply some space for
hosts
Network numbers are assigned by your Internet
Service Provider, who got them from the
InterNIC (Network Information Center)

Network numbers are written as a full 32-bit

quantity (and an implied network mask)
Networks end with some number of
contiguous zero-bits on the right
These zero-bits are where customers can
use one bits for host addresses
Slide 9

You can also use RFC

1597 addresses
For local use, although your provider may
reserve some of them
10.0.0.0 - 10.255.255.255 (10/8)
172.16.0.0 - 172.31.255.255 (172.16/12)
192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255 (192.168/16)
(see also RFC 1918 and RFC 1627)
Slide 10

Network Mask
Identifies how many bits of the IP address
the host may use
The mask contains a 1 bit for every bit in the
network portion of the address
The mask contains a 0 bit for every bit in the
host portion of the address
Every host on a network must have the
same network mask
May also be called the Subnet Mask
Slide 11

Default Network Masks

32 bit Network Address

1-126
00000000 00000000 00000000

Class A
gatekeeper.dec.com

16.1.0.2

128-191
00000000 00000000

Class B
hq.tgv.com

161.44.128.70

192-223
00000000

Class C
www.digital.com

204.123.2.49

Network Portion
Slide 12

Host Portion

Network Masks are now

shown with slash notation
Class A network number
8 bits of network, 24 bits of host
10.0.0.0/8

Class B network number

16 bits of network, 16 bits of host
128.196.0.0/16

Class C network number

24 bits of network, 8 bits of host
192.245.12.0/24
Slide 13

technically, Class D numbers have

a 28-bit prefix, but this is never used
in practice.

Prefixes and Network

Masks almost the same
A network mask can represent an arbitrary
set of bits:
11111111 11110111 10101010 00000000

A prefix can only represent contiguous ones

bits:
11111111 11111111 11111100 00000000
is the same as /22

Subnet numbers SHOULD be contiguous...

(RFC 1812)
Slide 14

Translating between the

two is easy

Slide 15

255.255.0.0

/16

255.255.128.0

/17

255.255.192.0

/18

255.255.224.0

/19

255.255.240.0

/20

255.255.248.0

/21

255.255.252.0

/22

255.255.254.0

/23

255.255.255.0

/24

255.255.255.128

/25

255.255.255.192

/26

255.255.255.224

/27

255.255.255.240

/28

255.255.255.248

/29

255.255.255.252

/30

128

64

32

16

10000000 = 128 = 128

11000000 = 192 = 128+64
11100000 = 224 = 128+64+32
11110000 = 240 = 128+64+32+16
11111000 = 248 = 128+64+32+16+8
11111100 = 252 = 128+64+32+16+8+4
11111110 = 254 = 128+64+32+16+8+4+2
11111111 = 255 = 128+64+32+16+8+4+2+1

Simple Network
Example
Network address
Network mask
Host numbers

192.195.240.0
255.255.255.0 or /24

192.195.240.1 - 192.195.240.254

First 24 bits identify the network

Last 8 bits are for the host EXCEPT:
Cant use all 0s (.0, assigned network)
Cant use all 1s (.255, broadcast address)

Slide 16

Two addresses in every

network are special
Host part all ones (usually 255-ish)
This is defined as the broadcast address, and
means all systems on the current network

Host part all zeros (usually 0-ish)

This is defined as the network number and
cannot be used

Example:

Slide 17

192.245.12.0/24 is a network with 8 bits

192.245.12.255 is the broadcast address
192.245.12.0 is the network number
192.245.12.1 through 192.245.12.254 are hosts

Network Mask Usage

Host address:
Network Mask:

192.195.240.4
255.255.255.0 (/24)

Logical AND yields network 192.195.240.0

Destination host: 192.195.241.4

Logical AND yields network 192.195.241.0

Since the network 24 bits of the local host

and destination host are unequal, the
destination host is not on local net

Slide 18

IP Subnetworks
Allows the host part of IP address to be
further split
Arbitrary bit position divides subnet and host
Transparent outside of local network
Must be agreed upon by all hosts in local
network
Allows additional layer of hierarchy to be
built into a single IP network number
Helps reduce address space waste
Slide 19

Originally used to break up

Class B networks
Organization would get a Class B network
number (e.g., 128.196.0.0)
Organization would start to buy routers
Organization would want to break up that
network into smaller pieces

Slide 20

Subnet a B into Cs
Original network number was 128.196.0.0
Original network mask was 255.255.0.0
Subnet with network mask 255.255.255.0
This gives 256 networks of 254 hosts each
128.196.0.1 through 128.196.0.254
128.196.1.1 through 128.196.1.254
128.196.255.1 through 128.196.255.254

Slide 21

Finishing Subnet a B into

Cs
The world (everyone outside) knows of the
network as 128.196.0.0 (no subnet)
Everyone inside must agree that the network
mask is 255.255.255.0

Slide 22

Thats where we used to

end the class...
You cant get a class B network number any
more
You probably get a block of class C network
numbers which you need to break up
yourself
Address space is scare
Class B addresses are very scarce
Class C addresses are common, but routing
table space is very scarce

Major ISPs are filtering inefficient blocks

Slide 23

Subnets and Supernets

In the old Internet the default network mask
was based on the first few bits of the first
octet
In the new Internet network masks are
defined for all networks
a network subdivided into smaller subnets uses
subnet masks
a network comprised of a consecutive range of
network numbers uses supernet masks (CIDR)

Slide 24

Example of Subnetting
Physical topology of two physical LANs
(ethernets) separated by a router
The router (host) must know which interface
to select
Each interface must be on a different IP
network
Router

Slide 25

Subnet Example
We could assign each its own, like
192.195.240.0 and 192.195.241.0
wastes lots of IP addresses if < 510 hosts

We can take our /24, and split it into /25

networks:
192.195.240.[0][7 host bits]
192.195.240.1 - 192.195.240.126

192.195.240.[1][7 host bits]

192.195.240.128 - 192.195.240.255

This gives us two subnetworks of 2**7 hosts

each (minus 2 per subnet, of course)
Slide 26

However
We cant use a subnetwork of all 0 bits
some routers cant handle that
cant distinguish between route to both nets and route to subnet 0

Therefore we cant use a one-bit network mask,

such as in the previous example, because its
either all zeroes or all ones

RFC 1812 changed

this! Get your router
manufacturer to fix
their software!
Slide 27

Lets do Two Subnets

anyway
If we assign two bits:
192.195.240.[00][6 host bits]
191.195.240.[01][6 host bits]
192.195.240.[10][6 host bits]
192.195.240.[11][6 host bits]

Slide 28

The Subnet Mask

The subnet mask in this case must represent
the part the IP kernel needs to compare
when checking for whether this is on the
local network
255.255.255.192 includes those extra two bits
at the end
192 = 11000000
mask = 11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000
prefix = /26 (/24 + 2 bits)

Slide 29

Subnetting 192.195.240.0
First three octets are: 192.195.240.xxx
net
num

net num in
binary

num in b-cast
decimal address

00 000000

.0

.63

.1 through .62

01 000000

.64

.127

.65 through .126

10 000000

.128

.191

.129 through .190

11 000000

.192

.255

.193 through .254

Network Mask = /26 = 255.255.255.192

Slide 30

host
range

Further Subnetting
Lets say we have need for multiple physical
networks, like 10 or so, each of which will
have a few systems on it
Internet

R
R
R

R
Slide 31

Find the lowest power of 2

that fits
2**8
2**7
2**6
2**5
2**4
2**3
2**2
2**1
2**0
Slide 32

256 (not very useful)

128
64
32
32 is too many, and 8 is too
few, so 16 must be just right
16
- little Red Riding Hood
8
4
2
1
(not very useful)

Four additional bits for

network number works
The original network had a 24 bit netmask
/24 prefix
255.255.255.0 mask

Subnet as a /28 (/24 + /4)

/28 prefix
11111111 11111111 11111111 11110000
255.255.255.240 mask

This will leave us 16 host addresses per

subnet, minus one for the network address
and one for the broadcast address = 14
Slide 33

Example of subnetting a
network to a /27
Original network number: 192.245.12.0/24
First three octets of everything: 192.245.12.xxx
net
num

net num in
binary

num in b-cast
host
decimal address range

000 00000

.0

.31

.1 to .30

001 00000

010 00000

011 00000

.224

.255

.225 to .254

4
5
6
7
Slide 34

111 00000

A little binary-to-decimal
conversion table
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000
0000

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010
0010

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47

0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100
0100

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79

0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110
0110

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111

1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143

1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010
1010

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175

1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100
1100

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207

1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110
1110

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239

0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001
0001

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31

0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011
0011

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63

0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101
0101

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95

0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111
0111

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127

1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001
1001

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159

1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011
1011

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191

1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101
1101

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223

1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111
1111

0000
0001
0010
0011
0100
0101
0110
0111
1000
1001
1010
1011
1100
1101
1110
1111

240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255

Slide 35

Example of subnetting a
network to a /27
Original network number: 192.245.12.0/24
First three octets of everything: 192.245.12.xxx

Slide 36

net
num

net num in
binary

num in b-cast
host
decimal address range

000 00000

.0

.31

.1 to .30

001 00000

.32

.63

.33 to .62

010 00000

.64

.95

.65 to .94

011 00000

.96

.127

.97 to .126

100 00000

.128

.159

.129 to .158

101 00000

.160

.191

.161 to .190

110 00000

.192

.223

.193 to .222

111 00000

.224

.255

.225 to .254

Subnet Mask Summary

A network can be split into multiple smaller
logical networks
Network mask or prefix indicates which bits
to compare when making routing decisions
255.255.255.0 is the same as /24

Host part: All 1s and all 0s cannot be used

All host bits ones are broadcast address
All host bits zero are network address

Network part: All 0s can be a problem

With non-RFC 1812 compliant routers
Slide 37

Supernets
Supernetting takes multiple logical networks
and makes one new logical network
Combine multiple Class-C networks for one
physical network
More than 256 hosts on a cable

Supernetting makes the network mask less

specific than the default mask

Slide 38

Supernet Example
Assigned network numbers of 204.17.32.0
and 204.17.33.0
A supernet mask of 255.255.254.0 would
address both nets on the same physical wire
204.17.32.0
= 11001100.00010001.00100000.00000000
204.17.33.0
= 11001100.00010001.00100001.00000000
255.255.254.0 = 11111111.11111111.11111110.00000000

Slide 39

Special IP Addresses
A number of IP addresses are considered
special by the RFCs and most
implementations
These are mostly for broadcast and
loopback purposes
Well use the notation { xxx, yyy } to indicate
the network and host part
xxx = network part
yyy = host part
Slide 40

{ 0 , 0 } and { 0 , <host> }
{0,0} means this host, on this network
Written also as 0.0.0.0
Never used except in testing or booting
BOOTP uses 0.0.0.0 to indicate me

{0,<host>} means this host, on this network

as well.
Reserved
but Ive never seen it used
Slide 41

{ -1 , -1 } and
{ <this net> , -1 }
{-1 , -1} is the everywhere broadcast
address
Usually written as 255.255.255.255
Does not go outside of your local network
{<this net>, -1} is the broadcast to all hosts
in your local net
Very commonly used
For example, 192.245.12.0/24 broadcast is
192.245.12.255
Slide 42

{ 127 , <anything> }
Any address with the first octet 127
Typically used as 127.0.0.1
A Class A network number which is reserved
for loopback purposes
You may never use Net 127, even if you
want to

Slide 43

Special Address Summary

0.0.0.0 means me
network.0 means this network
network.255 means broadcast
255.255.255.255 means broadcast
everywhere
127.0.0.1 means loopback
(actually: 127.anything)

Slide 44

IP Addressing
Key Concepts
IP Addresses are 32 bit numbers
represented as a dotted quad
Network numbers are assigned by the
Internic or Internet access provider
Host numbers are assigned by the network
manager
Network masks identify which part of the IP
address is the network portion

TCP/IP References
TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1, The Protocols,
W. Richard Stevens, Addison-Wesley
Publishing Company, 1994
Interconnections: Bridges and Routers,
Radia Perlman, Addison-Wesley Publishing
Company, 1992
The Simple Book, An Introduction to Internet
Management, Marshall T. Rose, PTR
Prentice-Hall, Inc, 1994
Slide 46

IP Addressing

Questions ?

Presentation Copyright 1995 TGV Software, Inc.

TCP/IP Addressing and

Subnetting
Mike Sullenberger
Cisco Systems, Inc.
mls@cisco.com
+1 800 553 NETS