You’ve undoubtedly seen that all the IP addresses for all the network devices appear to be something like 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in case you’ve ever tried to set up your home Broadband router. But why do we use these digits and not others?

In 1996, the folks at the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) needed to determine what range of IPv4 addresses they could allot for internal use, implying that these IP addresses would only be assigned to devices in closed networks and would not be accessible on the public internet.

Why on earth would they do something like that? The main reason is a scarcity of IP addresses. There are 4,294,967,296 of them in total. We would have run out of IP addresses long ago if all internet-connected devices had their ones.

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has established a framework for defining private networks and assigning IP addresses to them. They have reserved three “blocks” of the IP address space for private networks, in collaboration with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA):

  • Range of Class A: 10. x.x.x – 10.255.255.255
  • Range of Class B: 172.16.x.x – 172.31.255.255
  • Range of Class C: 192.168.x.x – 192.168.255.255

Depending on how big your network is, you may pick one of these network classes. Class A offers 16,777,216 IP addresses, while class B has 1,048,576 and class C has 65,536.

Since we are discussing private home networks, I don’t believe you’ll be able to connect 50 different devices to the same router. The smaller the network, the fewer issues it will cause.

Because of this, many home internet routers have a considerably smaller range of IP addresses: 192.168.x.x to 192.168.x.255. This indicates that up to 254 gadgets can be connected to your network, usually its 254 devices and 01 routers. Most individuals should be okay with that number.

How does Network of Class C – 192.168.x.x IP Address Works?

The dotted-decimal IP address format converts the binary numbers utilized by computers into a more readable form. The binary number associated with 192.168.x.x is: 11010111 10101111 11110000 10101010

Because it’s a private IP network address, pings or other connections from the internet or external networks won’t work. This number is used in routing tables and routers to communicate network information with one another as a network address.

What Could Be the Substitutes of Class C – 192.168.0.0 Network?

192.168.0.0 is just a network address, not an internet address, but it can be used for local networking purposes when the hostname must remain constant. When the last two bits of an IP address are zero, as in 192.168.0.0, it indicates that the router resides on a private network connected to the public Internet by means

For private networks, the IANA has set aside the following blocks of IP address space:

  • 10.x.x.x – 10.250.250.255
  • 172.16.x.x – 172.30.251.255
  • 192.168.x.x – 192.168.253.254

Strength of 192.168.0.0 Network?

The size of the 192.168.0.0 network is determined by the network mask you choose. For example:

·        192.168.x.x/16 The range offers you 65,534 hosts.

·        192.168.x.x/18   The range offers you 16,382 hosts.

·        192.168.x.x/24 The range offers you 254 hosts.

On the other side, because ISPs provide configurations for addresses such as 192.168.x.0/24 and even 192.168.x1 as the network address and common local gateway address on routers that operate on 192.168.x network, this may be an issue with some home broadband routers running on the 192.168.

It’s tough for a home network to keep up with too many gadgets. When there are more than five to seven devices connected to the router at the same time, network performance may be affected. This problem is caused by signal interference and bandwidth sharing, not from the capability of the 192.168.x.x network itself.

Are 255 IP Addresses Enough?

A Class C or D network is perfectly suitable for your small business. They’re designed to be used privately by individuals, and anybody with some knowledge can do it (at least in theory).

Large enterprises with numerous linked devices may benefit from a Class A network. Having a 10. x.x.x private internet allows you to organize and maintain an excellent overview of all the connected devices.

Let’s assume you have two properties with 254 stories each and on each floor, there are about 250 different computers.

You could start by laying down an organized IP address structure for your company. For example, a computer on the 118th floor of your first building would be 10.3.130.x, whereas a computer on the 213th floor of your second building would be 10.1.23.x. Is that clear?

Conclusion

So, to summarize, we’re using 192.168.X.X IP addresses since this is the recommended protocol. The IETF has established three IP ranges for private networks, with Class C being the tiniest and most manageable and easy to maintain. This is why most routers use the same range of IP addresses (192.168.X.X). However, you may choose to utilize any of the three network tiers based on your specific needs.