Range of Public IP Address

The devices are connected in the network. In order to uniquely identify them some numerical value is assigned to every device. So to set this IP address or public IP address, there is a standard methodology through which a public IP address is been assigned.

This Public IP address assigned to every device is in the form of classes. These classes are defined by the standard Internet Assigned Numbers Authority(IANA).

Below are the common ranges of public IP addresses:

1. Class A IP Address Range:

• Format: N.H.H.H (1-126).(0-255).(0-255).(0-255)
• The first octet specified as (N) is the network part, and the remaining 3 octets (H) are the host parts.
• These class addresses are used for wide networks to due their vast range.
• The 1st bit in the Class A IP Address is always 0, which defines that it can have 128 unique network IDs (2^7).
• The remaining 3 octets represent up to 16,777,216 host addresses (2^24).
• Example: 41.167.11.21

2. Class B IP Address Range:

• Format: N.N.H.H (128-191).(0-255).(0-255).(0-255)
• The initial 2 octets (N) represent the network part, and the remaining last 2 octets (H) represent the host part.
• Class B addresses are mainly used for medium-sized networks.
• The first 2 bits of a Class B IP address are always 10, which defines that it can have 16,384 unique network IDs (2^14).
• The last 2 octets can represent up to 65,536 host addresses (2^16).
• Example: 172.25.110.51

3. Class C IP Address Range:

• Format: N.N.N.H (192-223).(0-255).(0-255).(0-255)
• In the above range, the first 3 octets represent the network part and the last octet(H) represents the host part.
• Class C addresses are mainly used for small networks.
• The 1st 3 bits of a Class C IP address are always 110, which defines that it can have 2,097,152 unique network IDs (2^21).
• The last octet can actually have up to 256 host addresses (2^8).
• Example: 200.120.50.11

In this growing digital world and in the context of computer networks, the Internet is the most crucial and vital topic that has enclosed us through various perspectives. Various electronic devices that we use such as Mobile, tablets, smart watches, and computer systems are connected to the internet.

For all these devices, there is an essential need for this device should be uniquely identified in the network to communicate with the vast range of global devices. So this identifier, which is assigned to each individual device, is basically known as an Internet Protocol, or what we call an IP Address.

An IP address is divided into two sub-parts known as private IP address and public IP address. A private IP address is a static IP address that cannot be changed. This article covers in detail the second part which is the public IP address. We will see it arranged along with an example letter. We will explore its features, and we will see some simple steps to find our public IP address later we will conclude our article with the frequently asked questions.