Introduction of Classful IP Addressing
Introduction of Classful IP Addressing
An IP address is an address that has information about how to reach a specific host, especially
outside the LAN. An IP address is a 32-bit unique address having an address space of 232.
Classful IP addressing is a way of organizing and managing IP addresses, which are used to
identify devices on a network. Think of IP addresses like street addresses for houses; each
device on a network needs its unique address to communicate with other devices. In this article,
we will discuss Classful IP addresses, and their types in detail.
Classful IP Addressing
Classful IP addressing is an obsolete method for allocating IP addresses and dividing the
available IP address space across networks. It was used from 1981 to 1993 until the introduction
of CIDR (Based on Prefixes rather than classes). Classful method categorizes IP addresses into
five classes (A, B, C, D, and E), each defined by the first few bits of the address and serving
specific ranges of purposes. The functionality of classful networking also extended to ease of
configuration. Network administrators could set up networks with default subnet masks without
the need for detailed subnetting strategies, which was particularly beneficial in less complex
networking environments.
IPV4 Address
An IPv4 address is a unique number assigned to every device that connects to the internet or a
computer network. It’s like a home address for your computer, smartphone, or any other device,
allowing it to communicate with other devices.
Format: An IPv4 address is written as four numbers separated by periods, like this:
192.168.1.1. Each number can range from 0 to 255.
The IPv4 address is divided into two parts: NID (Network ID) = 8bit, and HID (Host ID) =
24bit. So there are 28 which is 256 total networks created and 224 which is 16M Host per
network.
Purpose: The main purpose of an IPv4 address is to identify devices on a network and
ensure that data sent from one device reaches the correct destination.
Example: When you type a website address into your browser, your device uses the IPv4
address to find and connect to the server where the website is hosted.
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There are two notations in which the IP address is written, dotted decimal and
hexadecimal notation.
The value of any segment (byte) is between 0 and 255 (both included).
No zeroes preceding the value in any segment (054 is wrong, 54 is correct).
Hexadecimal Notation
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Network equipment of the time, such as routers, could be more easily programmed to handle
a limited number of fixed classes, speeding up the routing process because the class of an
address could be quickly identified from its first few bits.
While it did have limitations, classful addressing allowed for scaling of networks within the
bounds of each class size. Larger networks could use a Class A or B address, and smaller
networks could operate efficiently within a Class C subnet.
Classful addressing was a cost-effective solution that supported the early expansion of
the Internet by avoiding the need for complex subnetting schemes that require additional
computing resources and more sophisticated network management tools.
Classes of IP Addressing
The 32-bit IP address is divided into five sub-classes. These are given below:
Class A
Class B
Class C
Class D
Class E
Each of these classes has a valid range of IP addresses. Classes D and E are reserved for
multicast and experimental purposes respectively. The order of bits in the first octet determines
the classes of the IP address.
The class of IP address is used to determine the bits used for network ID and host ID and the
number of total networks and hosts possible in that particular class. Each ISP or network
administrator assigns an IP address to each device that is connected to its network.
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Classful Addressing
Note:
IP addresses are globally managed by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and
Regional Internet Registries (RIR).
While finding the total number of host IP addresses, 2 IP addresses are not counted and are
therefore, decreased from the total count because the first IP address of any network is the
network number and whereas the last IP address is reserved for broadcast IP.
Class A
IP addresses belonging to class A are assigned to the networks that contain a large number of
hosts.
The higher-order bit of the first octet in class A is always set to 0. The remaining 7 bits in the
first octet are used to determine network ID. The 24 bits of host ID are used to determine the
host in any network. The default subnet mask for Class A is 255.x.x.x. Therefore, class A has a
total of:
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Class A
Class B
IP address belonging to class B is assigned to networks that range from medium-sized to large-
sized networks.
The higher-order bits of the first octet of IP addresses of class B are always set to 10. The
remaining 14 bits are used to determine the network ID. The 16 bits of host ID are used to
determine the host in any network. The default subnet mask for class B is 255.255.x.x. Class B
has a total of:
Class B
Class C
The higher-order bits of the first octet of IP addresses of class C is always set to 110. The
remaining 21 bits are used to determine the network ID. The 8 bits of host ID are used to
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determine the host in any network. The default subnet mask for class C is 255.255.255.x. Class
C has a total of:
Class C
Class D
IP address belonging to class D is reserved for multi-casting. The higher-order bits of the first
octet of IP addresses belonging to class D is always set to 1110. The remaining bits are for the
address that interested hosts recognize.
Class D does not possess any subnet mask. IP addresses belonging to class D range from
224.0.0.0 – 239.255.255.255.
Class D
Class E
IP addresses belonging to class E are reserved for experimental and research purposes. IP
addresses of class E range from 240.0.0.0 – 255.255.255.255. This class doesn’t have any
subnet mask. The higher-order bits of the first octet of class E are always set to 1111.
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Class E
The network ID cannot start with 127 because 127 belongs to the class A address and is
reserved for internal loopback functions.
All bits of network ID set to 1 are reserved for use as an IP broadcast address and therefore,
cannot be used.
All bits of network ID set to 0 are used to denote a specific host on the local network and are
not routed and therefore, aren’t used.
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In the above table No. of networks for class A should be 127. (Network ID with all 0 s is not
considered)
Since there are these problems, Classful networking was replaced by Classless Inter-Domain
Routing (CIDR) in 1993. We will be discussing Classless addressing in the next post.
Network ID and The changes in the Network ID and There is no such restriction of
Host ID Host ID depend on the class. class in classless addressing.
Network
Host
Division of Address Host
Subnet
Subnet
Conclusion
Classful IP addressing, with its categorization into classes like A, B, and C, was a fundamental
method in early networking. It organized IP addresses based on network size but faced
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limitations in flexibility and efficient use of address space. The development of CIDR addressed
these issues by allowing more precise control over subnetting and optimizing address allocation.
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