University of Technology, Jamaica

School of Computing and Information Technology

Logical Addressing
Handout #5

Logical Addressing
IP addresses and MAC addresses are essential for data communication. Assume there are two
networks. The first network has three devices: A, B, C and the second network has three devices:
X, Y, Z. If a device A from the first network wishes to send data to a device Y in the second
network, it must first determine where Y is located in the second network, which requires
learning the IP address/ logical address, because the connection is subject to change and is not
permanent due to the nature of the Packet Switched Network (Logical). However, in order to
send data to that device, it must pass the data across physical communication links, for which a
MAC Address/Physical address is utilized.

IP Address: An Internet Protocol address is an IP address. It is a unique address that identifies

the device on the network. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns IP addresses to all devices
on its network. IP addresses are not generated at random. The Internet Assigned Numbers
Authority (IANA), a part of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN), generates and assigns them mathematically. IP addresses are used at the network
layer. IP Addresses are routable in nature.

IP Version Types:
There are 2 different versions of IP as follows.
1. IPv4 (IP version 4) – IPv4 employs a 32-bit address. It is composed of four numbers
separated by a ‘dot’ i.e., periods called an octet (byte). Each number in the octet can range
from 0 to 255.
Example – 172.166.3.28
2. IPv6 (IP version 6) – IPv6 is the next generation of Internet Protocol addresses. In
comparison to IPV4, IPv6 has a larger address space. IPv6 has a length of 128 bits and is
written in hexadecimal. It is composed of eight fields, each of which contains two octets. As
a result, IPv6 has 16 octets in total.
Example – 3221:1cd7:74b6:6da7:0000:0000:7349:6472

MAC Address: A MAC address is a one-of-a-kind identification assigned to a NIC (Network

Interface Controller/Card). The full form of MAC address is Media Access Control address.
MAC addresses are 48 bits long and these addresses could not be routed between networks.
MAC Address is a 12 digit hexadecimal numeral which is most typically expressed with a colon
or hyphen separating every two digits (an octet), making reading easier. MAC Addresses are
used at the Data Link Layer.

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Example – A MAC address of 2c549188c9e3 is represented as 2C:54:91:88:C9:E3 or 2c-54-91-
88-c9-e3.

Reason for IP address called a “logical” address, and the MAC address is called a
“physical” address:
 An IP address is also known as a logical address and it can change over time as well as
from one network to another. The Internet Service Provider will be in charge of assigning
it. When a device connects to a different network, it receives a different IP address as a
result of a change in Internet Service Provider.
 With the help of Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), even in the same
network, when a device wants to connect to the internet, it will acquire different
addresses from the pool. There is no assurance that the device always has the same IP
address. The IP address is not directly linked to any devices. As a result, it is referred to
as a logical address.
 However, there is a MAC address provided by the hardware interface vendor. It never
changes when a device is attached to any network. As a result, it is referred to as a
physical address.
 IP address is, for example, like school register no, university register no and corporate
employee id. When a person transfers from school to college and then to the workplace,
he or she is assigned a new Identification Number, which is used to uniquely identify the
individual inside that organization. At different periods, the same individual was
recognized with a different identification number. Similarly, when one machine connects
to a different network, it receives a new IP address each time. Thus it is called a logical
address.
 However, that address is unique inside that network. But MAC address is like an Aadhaar
number, it never changes to any business. It’s like an original identity.
 In the same way, the MAC address will be the same for the device’s (NIC), for any
network on which the device is associated. Thus it is called a physical address. A MAC
address is also a unique address. There won’t be the same address for two devices.

IP Address Structure
IP addresses are displayed as a set of four digits- the default address may be 192.158.1.38. Each
number on the set may range from 0 to 255. Therefore, the total IP address range ranges from
0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.

IP address is basically divided into two parts: X1. X2. X3. X4

1. [X1. X2. X3] is the Network ID
2. [X4] is the Host ID

1. Network ID: It is the part of the left-hand IP address that identifies the specific network
where the device is located. In the normal home network, where the device has an IP address
192.168.1.32, the 192.168.1 part of the address will be the network ID. It is customary to fill
in the last part that is not zero, so we can say that the device’s network ID is 192.168.1.0.

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2. Hosting ID: The host ID is part of the IP address that was not taken by the network ID.
Identifies a specific device (in the TCP / IP world, we call devices “host”) in that network.
Continuing with our example of the IP address 192.168.1.32, the host ID will be 32- the
unique host ID on the 192.168.1.0 network.

IP Address Types
There are 4 types of IP Addresses- Public, Private, Fixed, and Dynamic. Among them, public
and private addresses are derived from their local network location, which should be used within
the network while public IP is used offline.
1. Public IP address: A public IP address is an Internet Protocol address, encrypted by various
servers/devices. That’s when you connect these devices with your internet connection. This is
the same IP address we show on our homepage. So why the second page? Well, not all
people speak the IP language. We want to make it as easy as possible for everyone to get the
information they need. Some even call this their external IP address. A public Internet
Protocol address is an Internet Protocol address accessed over the Internet. Like the postal
address used to deliver mail to your home, the public Internet Protocol address is a different
international Internet Protocol address assigned to a computer device. The web server, email
server, and any server device that has direct access to the Internet are those who will enter the
public Internet Protocol address. Internet Address Protocol is unique worldwide and is only
supplied with a unique device.
2. Private IP address: Everything that connects to your Internet network has a private IP
address. This includes computers, smartphones, and tablets but also any Bluetooth-enabled
devices such as speakers, printers, or smart TVs. With the growing internet of things, the
number of private IP addresses you have at home is likely to increase. Your router needs a
way to identify these things separately, and most things need a way to get to know each
other. Therefore, your router generates private IP addresses that are unique identifiers for
each device that separates the network.
3. Static IP Address: A static IP address is an invalid IP address. Conversely, a dynamic IP
address will be provided by the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, which
can change. The Static IP address does not change but can be changed as part of normal
network management. Static IP addresses are incompatible, given once, remain the same
over the years. This type of IP also helps you get more information about the device.
4. Dynamic IP address: It means constant change. A dynamic IP address changes from time to
time and is not always the same. If you have a live cable or DSL service, you may have a
strong IP address. Internet Service Providers provide customers with dynamic IP addresses
because they are too expensive. Instead of one permanent IP address, your IP address is taken
out of the address pool and assigned to you. After a few days, weeks, or sometimes even
months, that number is returned to the lake and given a new number. Most ISPs will not
provide a static IP address to customers who live there and when they do, they are usually
more expensive. Dynamic IP addresses are annoying, but with the right software, you can
navigate easily and for free.

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Types of Website IP Address
Website IP address is of two types- Dedicated IP Address and Shared IP Address.
1. Dedicated IP address: A dedicated IP address is one that is unique for each website. This
address is not used by any other domain. A dedicated IP address is beneficial in many ways.
It provides increased speed when the traffic load is high and brings in increased security. But
dedicated IPs are costly as compared to shared IPs.
2. Shared IP address: A shared IP address is one that is not unique. It is shared between
multiple domains. A shared IP address is enough for most users because common
configurations don’t require a dedicated IP.

IP Address Classification Based on Operational Characteristics

According to operational characteristics, IP address is classified as follows:
1. Broadcast addressing: The term ‘Broadcast’ means to transmit audio or video over a
network. A broadcast packet is sent to all users of a local network at once. They do not have
to be explicitly named as recipients. The users of a network can open the data packets and
then interpret the information, carry out the instructions or discard it. This service is available
in IPv4. The IP address commonly used for broadcasting is 255.255.255.255
2. Unicast addressing: This address identifies a unique node on the network. Unicast is
nothing but one-to-one data transmission from one point in the network to another. It is the
most common form of IP addressing. This method can be used for both sending and
receiving data. It is available in IPv4 and IPv6.
3. Multicast IP addresses: These IP addresses mainly help to establish one-to-many
communication. Multicast IP routing protocols are used to distribute data to multiple
recipients. The class D addresses (224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255) define the multicast group.
4. Anycast addressing: In anycast addressing the data, a packet is not transmitted to all the
receivers on the network. When a data packet is allocated to an anycast address, it is
delivered to the closest interface that has this anycast address.

IP Address Classes
In the IPv4 IP address space, there are five classes: A, B, C, D and E. Each class has a specific
range of IP addresses (and ultimately dictates the number of devices you can have on your
network). Primarily, class A, B, and C are used by the majority of devices on the Internet. Class
D and class E are for special uses.

The list below shows the five available IP classes, along with the number of networks each can
support and the maximum number of hosts (devices) that can be on each of those networks. The
four octets that make up an IP address are conventionally represented by a.b.c.d - such as
127.10.20.30.

Class A Public & Private IP Address Range

Class A addresses are for networks with large number of total hosts. Class A allows for 126
networks by using the first octet for the network ID. The first bit in this octet, is always zero. The
remaining seven bits in this octet complete the network ID. The 24 bits in the remaining three

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octets represent the hosts ID and allows for approximately 17 million hosts per network. Class A
network number values begin at 1 and end at 127.
 Public IP Range: 1.0.0.0 to 127.0.0.0
o First octet value range from 1 to 127
 Private IP Range: 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
 Subnet Mask: 255.0.0.0 (8 bits)
 Number of Networks: 126
 Number of Hosts per Network: 16,777,214

Class B Public & Private IP Address Range

Class B addresses are for medium to large sized networks. Class B allows for 16,384 networks
by using the first two octets for the network ID. The first two bits in the first octet are always 1 0.
The remaining six bits, together with the second octet, complete the network ID. The 16 bits in
the third and fourth octet represent host ID and allows for approximately 65,000 hosts per
network. Class B network number values begin at 128 and end at 191.
 Public IP Range: 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.0.0
o First octet value range from 128 to 191
 Private IP Range: 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
 Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0 (16 bits)
 Number of Networks: 16,382
 Number of Hosts per Network: 65,534

Class C Public & Private IP Address Range

Class C addresses are used in small local area networks (LANs). Class C allows for
approximately 2 million networks by using the first three octets for the network ID. In a class C
IP address, the first three bits of the first octet are always 1 1 0. And the remaining 21 bits of first
three octets complete the network ID. The last octet (8 bits) represent the host ID and allows for
254 hosts per network. Class C network number values begins at 192 and end at 223.
 Public IP Range: 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0
o First octet value range from 192 to 223
 Private IP Range: 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255
 Special IP Range: 127.0.0.1 to 127.255.255.255
 Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0 (24 bits)
 Number of Networks: 2,097,150
 Number of Hosts per Network: 254

Class D IP Address Range

Class D IP addresses are not allocated to hosts and are used for multicasting. Multicasting allows
a single host to send a single stream of data to thousands of hosts across the Internet at the same
time. It is often used for audio and video streaming, such as IP-based cable TV networks.
Another example is the delivery of real-time stock market data from one source to many
brokerage companies.

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  Range: 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255
o First octet value range from 224 to 239
 Number of Networks: N/A
 Number of Hosts per Network: Multicasting

Class E IP Address Class

Class E IP addresses are not allocated to hosts and are not available for general use. These are
reserved for research purposes.
 Range: 240.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255
o First octet value range from 240 to 255
 Number of Networks: N/A
 Number of Hosts per Network: Research/Reserved/Experimental

Subnetting
Subnetting allows you to create multiple logical networks that exist within a single Class A, B, or
C network. If you do not subnet, you are only able to use one network from your Class A, B, or
C network, which is unrealistic.

Each data link on a network must have a unique network ID, and every node on that link is a
member of the same network. If you break a major network (Class A, B, or C) into smaller
subnetworks, it allows you to create a network of interconnecting subnetworks. Each data link on
this network would then have a unique network/subnetwork ID. Any device, or gateway, that
connects n networks/subnetworks has n distinct IP addresses, one for each network / subnetwork
that it interconnects.

In order to subnet a network, extend the natural mask with some of the bits from the host ID
portion of the address in order to create a subnetwork ID. For example, given a Class C network
of 192.168.5.0 which has a natural mask of 255.255.255.0, you can create subnets in this
manner:

192.168.5.0 - 11000000.10101000.00000101.00000000
255.255.255.224 - 11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000
--------------------------------------|sub|-------

By extending the mask to be 255.255.255.224, you have taken three bits (indicated by "sub")
from the original host portion of the address and used them to make subnets. With these three
bits, it is possible to create eight subnets. With the other five host ID bits, each subnet can have
up to 32 host addresses, 30 of which can actually be assigned to a device since host ids of all
zeros or all ones are not allowed (it is very important to remember this). So, with this in mind,
these subnets have been created.

192.168.5.0 255.255.255.224 host address range 1 to 30

192.168.5.32 255.255.255.224 host address range 33 to 62
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192.168.5.64 255.255.255.224 host address range 65 to 94
192.168.5.96 255.255.255.224 host address range 97 to 126
192.168.5.128 255.255.255.224 host address range 129 to 158
192.168.5.160 255.255.255.224 host address range 161 to 190
192.168.5.192 255.255.255.224 host address range 193 to 222
192.168.5.224 255.255.255.224 host address range 225 to 254