IPv4 Address Classes

SALAZAR DEFAZ JUAN ESTEBAN

Escuela Politécnica Nacional
Ingenierı́a Electrónica y Control
Redes Industriales
Quito, Ecuador
Email: juan.salazar@epn.edu.ec

Abstract—The abstract goes here.

I. I NTRODUCTION
First is necessary to understand what is an IP address, for
that reason I am making this analogy, to give a package, a gift
or a cart to someone you need an address to send to him or her
the information, you need to know where he or she lives but
this information must be confidentiality only two people can
know, the emissary and the receptor. To give the package there
are a few intermediaries that make easier that the receptor gets
the package, this intermediaries tries to make the path more
short to carry it hence the package could get to the destiny
so that the addres is very important because help us in the
communication between devices.
Figure 1. Example of Net ID and Host ID
There are a few types of directions or better name as classes
in the IPv4 address, but to understand how many classes are
we need to understand first which is the composition of a IPv4 1) To know how many numbers and host could exist we use
direction. a formula.:
Number of networks: 2network bits
II. IP V 4 C OMPOSITION Number of hosts: 2host bits − 2
To identify an IPv4 address is easy to look that it has a
numeric indicator that works with 32 bits, this 32 bits are IV. C LASSES OF IP V 4
separated in 4 groups of 8 bits, octets, commonly we observe IPv4 Address are divided in classes those classes differs by
that this 8 bits are represented en decimal notation and each the number of octets that are reserved for Net and Host IDs.
group are separated by a periods.
A. Class A Address
In the first octet the first bit is set in zero, thus the decimal
Bits 0111 1000 1101 0001 1110 0001 0110 0011
range of number for this class is from 1 to 127 however Class
Octet 1 2 3 4 A addresses only include IP starting from 1.x.x.x to 126.x.x.x
Decimal 120. 209. 113. 99 for loopback IP addresses the Host ID 127.x.x.x is reserved.
Table I
IP V 4 R EPRESENTATION
For this class exist a private network which Host ID is
10.x.x.x.

III. PARTS OF A IP V 4 ADDRESS
A IPv4 uses a protocol for communication and to identify
the device the protocol first is needed to identify the net
where the device is located it makes by the first octets, this
group of octets are called NET ID; the other part of the octets
helps to identify the device that is inside of the net, those are
called HOST ID.
For all these networks everyone of these has a subnet mask
which number is 255.0.0.0.
B. Class B Address
The first 2 bits of a Class B of IP address are set to 10
which means that the range of IP address range are from
128.0.x.x to 191.255.x.x.
 For this class exists twho private networks , which Host
ID is 172.16.x.x and 172.31.x.x., this has an special subnet
mask which number is 255.240.x.x

The subnet mask number is 255.255.0.0.

C. Class C Address
The first 3 bits from Class C are set to 110 so that the
range of the address are from 192.0.0.x to 223.255.255.x.

For this class is reserved 192.168.x.x as private addresses

and it subnet mask is 255.255.0.0.

The default mask for this class is 255.255.255.0.

D. Class D Address
The first octet has it first bits set to 1110 hence the range
of it class is from 224 to 239. This class is reserved for
multicasting data, this class does not have any subnet mask.
E. Class E Address
This special class is reserved for experimental pur-
poses the range of IPv4 address come from 240.0.0.0 to
255.255.255.254.
V. C ONCLUSION
• To make easier the communication is necessary to first
find the net and then the device that is why is easier for
the routers to find the device which is connected to the
this protocol.

• As we can see the number of networks for class A are

fewer than the rest but this network can have lots of de-
vice connected, while the Class B I think is recommended
for medium networks and the class C for small networks.
• Understand the direction in binary bit by bit is more
difficult for that reason I think that was necessary to
transform the numbers to decimal base, however all
devices understand the 32 bits configuration.
R EFERENCES
[1] S.Q.A. “Internet Technologies”, [online], Available in:
http://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/WebTech01CD/page 11.htm
[2] Segui Boronat., Montagud F. “Direccionamiento e inter-
conexión de redes basada en TCP/IP:IPv4/IPv6, DHCP,
NAT, Encaminamineot RIP y OSPF”, Editorial de la
Universidad de Valencia, January 2013 [online], Available in:
http://site.ebrary.com.bvirtual.epn.edu.ec/lib/epnsp/reader.action?docID
=10820977