IPv4 Address Classes

Public IPv4 Address Classes

Class A 1 – 127 Leading bit pattern 0

00000000.00000000.00000000.00000000
Class B 128 – Leading bit pattern 10
191
10000000.00000000.00000000.00000000
Class C 192 – Leading bit pattern 110
223
11000000.00000000.00000000.00000000
Class D 224 – Leading bit pattern 1110
239
11100000.00000000.00000000.00000000
(Reserved for multicast) Range 224.0.0.0 to 224.0.0.255 reserved to reach multicast groups on a local
network.
Class E 240 – Leading bit pattern 11110
255
11110000.00000000.00000000.00000000
(Reserved for experimental, used for research)

Private IPv4 Address Space

Range Default Subnet Prefix
Masks Length
Class 10.0.0.0 to 255.0.0.0 /8
A
10.255.255.255
Class 172.16.0.0 to 255.255.0.0 /12
B
172.31.255.255
Class 192.168.0.0 to 255.255.255.0 /16
C
192.168.255.255

IPv4 loopback address:

Network Range Prefix Length
Class 127.0.0. 127.0.0.1 to /16
C 1/8 127.255.255.255

Special User IPv4 Addresses

 Loopback addresses (127.0.0.0 /8 or 127.0.0.1 to 127.255.255.254) – More commonly identified as
only 127.0.0.1, these are special addresses used by a host to direct traffic to itself. For example, it can be
used on a host to test if the TCP/IP configuration is operational, such as shown in the figure. Notice how the
127.0.0.1 loopback address replies to the ping command. Also note how any address within this block will
loop back to the local host, such as shown with the second ping in the figure.

 Link-Local addresses (169.254.0.0 /16 or 169.254.0.1 to 169.254.255.254) – More commonly

known as the Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) addresses, they are used by a Windows DHCP client
to self-configure in the event that there are no DHCP servers available.Useful in a peer-to-peer connection.
  TEST-NET addresses (192.0.2.0/24 or 192.0.2.0 to 192.0.2.255) – These addresses are set aside for
teaching and learning purposes and can be used in documentation and network examples.

Note: There are also Experimental Addresses in the block 240.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.254 that are reserved for
future use (RFC 3330).
 Types of IPv6 Addresses
Unspecified, Loopback, Embedded IPv4
Unspecified address is an all 0 address and cannot be assigned to an interface. It
would be typed as ::

This is only used as a source address to indicate the absence of an actual address.

Loopback Address is all 0’s except for the last bit, which is 1: It would be typed as ::1

It operates the same as the IPv4 127.0.0.1 loopback address.

IPv4 Embedded addresses are IPv6 addresses with an IPv4 address embedded in the
low-order 32 bits. They are used to transition networks from IPv4 to IPv6.

Address Range (::/8):

0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/8 to 00FF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF/8

Global Unicast
Global Unicast addresses are used to uniquely identify a specific interface on a host
and can be used as a public address on the internet.

Address Range (2000::/3):

2000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/3 to 3FFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF/3

Unique local Unicast

Unique local Unicast addresses are roughly the same as IPv4 private addresses.

Address Range (FC00::/7):

FC00:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/7 to FDFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF/7

Link-local Unicast
Link-local addresses are unicast addresses that are limited to a point to point
connection within a local network. Routers will not forward packets with a link-local
address.

Address Range (FE80::/10):

FE80:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/10 to FEBF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF/10
Multicast
Multicast addresses are used to send a single packet to multiple destinations
simultaneously.

Address Range (FF00::/8):

FF00:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000/8 to FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF:FFFF/8