25/01: IP Address and Private Network

Category: General
Posted by: bagheljas
IP Address is also known as Internet Protocol Address. The Internet Protocol Address assignments are managed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). IANA has divided the IP Addresses into two groups. First named as Public IP Address and second named as Private IP Address. The Public IP Address has to be unique in the whole world. Hence, the Public IP Address is routable to the internet. The Private IP Address is reserved to build a private network controlled by the owner of the private network without coordination with IANA and the Private IP Addresses are not unique in the world. Hence, the Private IP Addresses by default is not routable to the internet.

IANA has reserved the following IP addresses to create a Private Network:
  • Class A: 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
  • Class B: 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
  • Class C: 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

The table provides a quick guide for sizing Virtual Networks/SubNets. The Virtual Networks and SubNets are usually configured in Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR) notation (x.x.x.x/8, x.x.x.x/16, ... x.x.x.x/24). The largest possible Virtual Networks/SubNets is 10.x.x.x/8 and the smallest possible Virtual Networks/SubNets is 10.x.x.x/30. It is a leading practice to consider that we keep the minimum size of the Virtual Networks/SubNets at 3x plus level. While x is the size for the proposed Virtual Networks/SubNets Go-Live requirements.

Please note that hosting or Infrastructure as a Services(IaaS) provider may reserve additional IP Address in Virtual Networks/SubNets that one need to adjust and align for their Private Network Design.
Virtual Networks and SubNets Size




Disclaimer

The thoughts expressed in the blog are those of the author and do not represent necessarily the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the study are not reflective of the point of view(s) of any entity other than the author. Since we are critically thinking human beings, the point of view(s) is always subject to change, revision and rethinking at any time. While reasonable efforts have been made to obtain accurate information, the author makes no warranty, expressed or implied as to its accuracy.