Class C IP addresses are a range of IP addresses within the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addressing system. Class C addresses are one of the three major address classes, with Class A and Class B addresses being the other two. Class C addresses are often associated with smaller networks and are commonly used for network configurations within homes, small businesses, and subnetworks of larger organizations.
In a Class C IP address, the first three bits of the first octet are always set to “110,” which means the range of Class C addresses begins with 110. This leaves 21 bits for network identification, allowing for a total of 2^21, or 2,097,152 possible Class C networks. The remaining 8 bits in the IP address are available for host addresses within each network.
The Class C IP address format is represented as follows:
N.N.N.H- N: Network portion (24 bits)
- H: Host portion (8 bits)
The range of Class C IP addresses can be expressed as follows:
- From 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.255
Class C addresses provide a smaller address space compared to Class A and Class B addresses, but they are well-suited for smaller networks. Each Class C network can accommodate up to 256 host addresses, making them suitable for home networks and small office environments.
One of the advantages of Class C addresses is their efficiency in terms of IP address allocation. Organizations can allocate Class C subnets as needed, conserving IP addresses and minimizing waste. This makes Class C addresses a valuable resource, especially considering the scarcity of available IPv4 addresses.
However, the rapid growth of the internet and the increasing number of connected devices have led to IPv4 address depletion issues. To address this, practices such as Network Address Translation (NAT) and the adoption of IPv6, which offers a vastly larger pool of IP addresses, have become essential for managing the limited pool of available IPv4 addresses.