IP Addressing
What is an IP Address?
A full explanation of IP addressing is beyond the scope of this user guide. However, the
following information is enough to get started.
An IP address is a 32-bit binary number that is used to identify each device on an Ethernet
network. This number is usually represented by four decimal numbers (each in the
range 0 to 255) separated by dots, (for example, 198.123.34.240). This is called
"dotted decimal notation".
An IP address is divided into two parts:
•
The network identifier
•
The host identifier
On a given network, each address must have the same network identifier value, but have a
unique host identifier. There are, therefore, different classes of addresses that define:
•
The range of valid addresses.
•
The parts of the address used to identify the network and host.
The most common IP address classes are:
Class
Valid Address Range
Identifier Arrangement
Class A
0.0.0.1
to
127.255.255.254
NNN.HHH.HHH.HHH
Class B
128.0.0.1
through
191.255.255.254
NNN.NNN.HHH.HHH
Class C
192.0.0.1
through
223.255.255.254
NNN.NNN.NNN.HHH
NOTES:
•
NNN
= Network identifier
•
HHH
= Host identifier
Private and Public Address Ranges
Within each of the above classes are a range of addresses designated as "private"
addresses. These are addresses that should only be used on private local networks and
intranets and cannot be accessed directly from the Internet.
•
10.0.0.0
–
10.255.255.255
•
172.16.0.0
–
172.31.255.255
•
169.254.0.0
–
169.254.255.255
•
192.168.0.0
–
192.168.255.255
Addresses outside these ranges are considered "public".
Multicast Address Range
A further range of addresses is available for multicast use:
•
224
.
0
.
0
.
0
–
239
.
255
.
255
.
255
These addresses (also known as class D addresses) are used to allow several devices to be
part of the same multicast group. Each device in the group has the same multicast address
and can effectively send data to all other devices in the same group simultaneously.
The SMP 351 uses
239
.
199
.
188
.
138
as the default multicast address for the archive
stream and
239
.
199
.
188
.
142
as the confidence stream default.
SMP 351 • Reference Information
188
