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HBK 939800036-A1
Type Two
In larger networks, where there are more devices, the IP address of ‘192.168.10.8’ is, again, split into two
parts but is structured differently:
Part one (‘192.168’) identifies the network on which the device resides.
Part two (‘.10.8’) identifies the device within the network.
This type of IP Address operates on a subnet mask of ‘255.255.0.0’.
How does a Device Obtain an IP Address and Subnet Mask?
There are three different ways to obtain an IP address and the subnet mask. These are:
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Addressing
Static Addressing
Automatic Addressing (Auto-IP Addressing)
DHCP Addressing
The Router contains a DHCP server, which allows computers on your network to obtain an IP address and
subnet mask automatically. DHCP assigns a temporary IP address and subnet mask which gets reallocated
once you disconnect from the network.
DHCP will work on any client Operating System. Also, using DHCP means that the same IP address and
subnet mask will never be duplicated for devices on the network. DHCP is particularly useful for networks
with large numbers of users on them.
Static Addressing
You must enter an IP Address and the subnet mask manually on every device. Using a static IP and subnet
mask means the address is permanently fixed.
Auto-IP Addressing
Network devices use automatic IP addressing if they are configured to acquire an address using DHCP but
are unable to contact a DHCP server. Automatic IP addressing is a scheme where devices allocate them-
selves an IP address at random from the industry standard subnet of 169.254.x.x (with a subnet mask of
255.255.0.0). If two devices allocate themselves the same address, the conflict is detected and one of the
devices allocates itself a new address. Automatic IP addressing support was introduced by Microsoft in the
Windows 98 operating system and is also supported in Windows 2000 and Windows XP.