NETWORK ADDRESSING

This chapter began by discussing IPv4 addressing and subnet masks. A host needs an
IPv4 address to participate on the Internet. Every packet sent across the Internet has
a source and destination IPv4 address. An IPv4 address is simply a series of 32
binary bits (ones and zeros). The 32 bits are grouped into four 8-bit bytes called
octets. The logical 32-bit IPv4 address is hierarchical and is made up of two parts.
The first part identifies the network and the second part identifies a host on that
network. Both parts are required in an IPv4 address. When a host is configured, a
subnet mask is assigned along with an IPv4 address. Like the IPv4 address, the
subnet mask is 32 bits long. The subnet mask signifies which part of the IPv4
address is network and which part is host.
NETWORK ADDRESSING
The different types of IPv4 addresses were covered next. In 1981, Internet IPv4
addresses were assigned using classful addressing. These private address ranges
consist of a single Class A network, 16 Class B networks and 256 Class C networks.
The system in use today is referred to as classless addressing. The formal name is
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR, pronounced “cider”). Hosts can use IPv4
addresses to communicate one-to-one (unicast), one-to-many (multicast) or one-to-
all (broadcast).
 WHAT IS AN IPV4 ADDRESS?
A host needs an IPv4 address to participate on the
Internet. The IPv4 address is a logical network address
that identifies a particular host. It must be properly
configured and unique within the LAN, for local
communication. It must also be properly configured
and unique in the world, for remote communication.
This is how a host is able to communicate with other
devices on the Internet.
 SUBNET MASKS
The subnet masks we see most often with home
and small business networking are: 255.0.0.0 (8-
bits), 255.255.0.0 (16 bits) and 255.255.255.0
(24 bits). A subnet mask of 255.255.255.0
(decimal) or
11111111.11111111.1111111.00000000 (binary)
uses 24 bits to identify the network number
which leaves 8 bits to number the hosts on that
network, as shown in the figure.
 WHERE DO DHCP ADDRESSES
COME FROM?
If you enter a wireless hotspot at an airport
or coffee shop, DHCP makes it possible for
you to access the Internet. As you enter the
area, your laptop DHCP client contacts the
local DHCP server via a wireless
connection. The DHCP server assigns an
IPv4 address to your laptop.
Various types of devices can be DHCP
servers as long as they are running DHCP
service software. With most medium to
large networks, the DHCP server is usually
a local dedicated PC-based server.
 WHO IS ON THE INSIDE?
The wireless router acts as a DHCP server for all local
hosts attached to it, either by Ethernet cable or wirelessly.
These local hosts are referred to as being located on an
internal, or inside, network. Most DHCP servers are
configured to assign private addresses to the hosts on the
internal network, rather than Internet routable public
addresses. This ensures that, by default, the internal
network is not directly accessible from the Internet.
The default IPv4 address configured on the local wireless
router interface is usually the first host address on that
network. Internal hosts must be assigned addresses within
the same network as the wireless router, either statically
configured, or through DHCP. When configured as a
DHCP server, the wireless router provides addresses in
this range. It also provides the subnet mask information
and its own interface IPv4 address as the default gateway,
as shown in the figure.
 WHAT IS IPV6 AND WHY DO
WE NEED IT?
So Many Devices, So Few Addresses
When IPv4 was introduced decades ago, few people
could imagine the rate at which Internet connectivity
would grow. It was anticipated that the approximately
4.3 billion addresses available with the 32-bit IPv4
address structure would be more than enough to
address all of the network connected devices. As it
turns out, 4.3 billion addresses are nowhere near
enough! The chart shows how rapidly the number of
network connected devices has grown since 2003. And
the growth rate does not appear to be slowing down at
all, in fact, the rate at which new devices are coming
online is increasing. As shown in the figure, it is
predicted that more than 50 billion devices will be
connected to the Internet by 2020. That is more than
six devices per person!
 IPV6 DIFFERENCES
In addition to the increase in length, IPv6 addresses have
other characteristics that are different than IPv4
addresses. Among the differences are:
Address autoconfiguration – Stateless Address
Autoconfiguration (SLAAC) allows a host to create its
own Internet routable address (global unicast address or
GUA), without the need for a DHCP server. As shown in
the figure, with the default method the host receives the
prefix (network address), prefix length (subnet mask),
and default gateway from the router’s Router
Advertisement message. The host can then create its own
unique Interface ID (host portion of the address) to give
itself a routable global unicast address.
Link-local address - Use of link-local address when
communicating with a device on the same network, as
shown in the figure.