Class C IP addresses are a category of IPv4 addresses designated for small- to medium-sized networks. They have a specific range of addresses defined by the values in the first octet of the IP address. In IPv4, an IP address is a 32-bit number divided into four 8-bit octets. The Class C IP address range is characterized by the first octet values falling within the range of 192 to 223.

The Class C IP address format is as follows:

N.N.N.H
  • N.N.N represents the network identifier, which is the first three octets ranging from 192.0.0 to 223.255.255.
  • H represents the host identifier, which can vary from 0 to 255 within the specified network.

Here are some examples of Class C IP address ranges:

  1. 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0
  2. 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.255
  3. 193.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0
  4. …
  5. 222.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.0

Class C addresses are often used for small office or home networks, as they provide a limited number of host addresses within each network. Each Class C network can accommodate up to 254 host addresses.

It’s important to note that Class C IP addresses, like Class A and Class B, are subject to address exhaustion due to the limited pool of available IPv4 addresses. Consequently, IPv6 has been introduced to provide a significantly larger address space and accommodate the growing number of devices and networks on the internet. IPv6 addresses do not use the traditional class-based system and are represented in a different format, offering practically unlimited unique addresses.