3Com 4210G Series, Configuration Manual, Page: 210 / 1133

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IP Addressing Configuration
When assigning IP addresses to interfaces on your device, go to these sections for information you are
interested in:
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IP Addressing Overview
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Configuring IP Addresses
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Displaying and Maintaining IP Addressing
IP Addressing Overview
This section covers these topics:
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IP Address Classes
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Special IP Addresses
IP Address Classes
On an IP network, a 32-bit address is used to identify a host. An example is
01010000100000001000000010000000 in binary. To make IP addresses in 32-bit form easier to read,
they are written in dotted decimal notation, each being four octets in length, for example, 10.1.1.1 for
the address just mentioned.
Each IP address breaks down into two parts:
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Net ID: The first several bits of the IP address defining a network, also known as class bits.
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Host-id: Identifies a host on a network.
IP addresses are divided into five classes, as shown in the following figure (in which the blue parts
represent the address class).
Figure 1-1
IP address classes
Table 1-1 describes the address ranges of these five classes.