In our daily living, most of us may somehow accidentally catch these unique sequences without recognition. Or else, if yes, we tend to turn a blind eye to them. Obviously, this sequence strikes us the initial impression on the surface as a complicated and meaningless sequence.
However, these private address ranges are not that hard to comprehend! Keep scrolling through our article to find out what they are.
What is an IP Address?
First and foremost, while IP represents “Internet Protocol”, the other part “address” refers to a sequence of numbers allocated by a network that all other devices could identify. Though IP address is solely numerical, it works as a potentially effective means of data delivery through the Internet.
IP addresses are separately divided into four types: dynamic, static, public, and private. Both dynamic and static were created to demonstrate the stability of the network assigned. When the dynamic addresses are inclined to change, the static one remains untouched.
On the other hand, public and private addresses show the network site. An IP public address is used widely in access to the Internet. On the contrary, the private one is not routed on the Internet, and it just works within the local locations. In our post, we would like to introduce more about private addresses.
Private IP Addresses Structure
Attentionally, there are four octets per address, and unlike dashes in the phone numbers, a dot is used in between every two octets. Therefore, when saying this address, make sure you save the dot between them as that is the proper way to go. There are 8 bits per octet and 32 bits in total length.
At the end of each address represents how long the subnet mask is calculated in the bit unit. That sign gives information on the number of binary digits aroused in the subnet masks.
To put it concisely, the subnet mask is like the masking that covers the painting. Anyway, the mask is just on the place that is NOT allowed to be painted on. The subnet mask was designed as a perfect way to calculate the address space and the host one.
Determine the IP Class
To know what class you are dealing with, look at the first octet on the preface. All addresses in the range start with a specific like “10” in class A range. Then, determine what part of your IP address is the network part and the node or host.
The reason for it is that the network part is just like your code, and the node or host is precisely like your phone numbers. The network ID represents you are on or where you are at. The node portion represents you as an individual located on that particular network. So you must know where these things are.
Watch out: When you see these numbers, you can still get on Facebook, Google, or other online sites. So why?
What you have is a different technicality. You have Internet access because somewhere on your network is a router that allows two devices to connect two networks. It is connecting your private network to a public network that goes on the Internet. So you are not quote-unquote on the Internet, but you still have Internet access.
What are the private IP address ranges?
According to the detailed requirements suggested in the document RFC-1918, the IANA ( Internet Assigned Number Authority) splits the private addresses up into four major ranges to better control the whole network.
| Class | Private Address Range |
|---|---|
| A | 10.0.0.0 To 10.255.255.255 |
| B | 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255 |
| C | 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 |
1. Range From 10.0.0.0 To 10.255.255.255
Starting with 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 and everything in between, this range consists of 16 777 216 IP addresses. The most significant similarity that comes to us is that all addresses start with “10” as their first octet. Hence, they are all single class A networks.
The idea behind this class is that they were assigned to the largest networks, like the government or other entities in the world. In this range, there are quite many IP addresses though there is very few class A addresses. Yet, we use very few among them.
While the first octet represents the network ID, the other three represent the node or host ID. In other words, the first octet tells you the network or the area code, and the last three octets represent you as one person located on that network.
Additionally, the CIDR notation slash 24 and the largest CIDR block or the subnet mask is 10.0.0.0/8 (255.0.0.0). Remember this special number if you are thinking of taking a certification test.
Commonly, for business and security purposes, some companies tend to separate it into minor ones like /16 networks for instance.
The host ID size of this range is 24 bits.
2. Range from 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
Like the first range, all addresses begin with the same octet, which is “172”. There are 1 048 576 IP addresses here and up to 16 adjoining class B networks.
Needless to say, the octet “172” is typical for class B networks. This network is a bit medium-sized. There is a decent bit of class B network, and there is also a pretty good bit of IPs to go with it.
Unlike class A networks, the first two octets represent the network, and the last two octets are for the node. In simple terms, the first two octets give you your area code, and the last two octets represent your location on the network.
Also, all IP addresses here have the slash 20 at the end. The largest CIDR block is 172.16.0.0/12(255.240.0.0)
The largest CIDR in an IP range?
Follow these straightforward steps, and you will understand why we have these numbers.
Step 1: Convert the range into a sequence of CIDR blocks. You can visit some online websites in case you don’t want to calculate anything.
Step 2: Look for the smallest block until it gets fit.
The host ID size here is 20 bits.
3. 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 range
Undoubtedly, these addresses all originated from class C networks as “192” is their first octet. Class C was designed for minimal networks, businesses, or entities in general. That’s why there are just 65 536 IP addresses here. However, this range contains up to 256 neighboring class C networks.
In this case, the first three octets are your area code, and the last single octet would represent you as an individual. The other number is from 0 to 255. Why? If you convert eight one or eight bits from binary to decimal, the number that you can come up with is 255. So, in essence, each one of these other places here can be between 0 to 255. And the same will apply to the above classes.
192.168.0.0/16 (255.255.0.0) is the largest CIDR block. The host size and mask bit are both 16 bits.
Note: 192.0.0.0 to 192.0.0.255 is also served in private networks. The address block is 192.0.0.0/24, and this range has 256 addresses. However, the main task of these addresses is for IETF Protocol Assignments.
4. A special range from 100.64.0.0 to 100.127.255.255
Contrary to widespread use, these private IP addresses were designed for the contact between the suppliers and their followers utilizing carrier-grade NAT, which functions as data delivery among many end locations.
What makes this range unique is that it combats with neither the RFC1918 private network address ranges above or the IANA public ranges. As a result, these addresses deserve to be the best IP addresses due to the following criteria:
- No conflict with 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12 and 192.168.0.0/16.
- No conflict with Internet networks.
- Nearly 4 million devices may exist at the same time.
- Re-use among firms.
How to check your private address
There are numerous ways to detect your private address. Here are several easy-to-follow methods we would like to recommend to you.
- Visit the website: https://www.whatismyip.com: This method is quite straightforward cause the page will show you all information about your private address just by several clicks. However, make sure that your phone or computer has a Wifi connection.
- Look in your router: This approach requires you to find the router among various larger files. Anyway, it is still quite easy to find, and all users could do that.
- Open up the command prompt in Windows 10: This app is available on Windows 10 to help users identify their own private address, so it is quite simple to use. Moreover, those having no Internet connection could still use this app as usual.
Now that I bet you have got the primary understanding of the private address ranges. It is indeed much easier than what you thought before. Let’s discover what your IP address is and take full advantage of it!
Thank you so much for flicking through our article, and see you next time!
