Chapter 11 System Screens

NWA1100-N User’s Guide

95

to the hosts without problems. However, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has 
reserved the following three blocks of IP addresses specifically for private networks.

You can obtain your IP address from the IANA, from an ISP or have it assigned by a private 
network. If you belong to a small organization and your Internet access is through an ISP, the ISP 
can provide you with the Internet addresses for your local networks. On the other hand, if you are 
part of a much larger organization, you should consult your network administrator for the 
appropriate IP addresses.

Note: Regardless of your particular situation, do not create an arbitrary IP address; 

always follow the guidelines above. For more information on address assignment, 

please refer to RFC 1597, Address Allocation for Private Internets and RFC 1466, 

Guidelines for Management of IP Address Space.

IP Address and Subnet Mask

Similar to the way houses on a street share a common street name, computers on a LAN share one 
common network number.

Where you obtain your network number depends on your particular situation. If the ISP or your 
network administrator assigns you a block of registered IP addresses, follow their instructions in 
selecting the IP addresses and the subnet mask.

If the ISP did not explicitly give you an IP network number, then most likely you have a single user 
account and the ISP will assign you a dynamic IP address when the connection is established. The 
Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) reserved this block of addresses specifically for private 
use; please do not use any other number unless you are told otherwise. Let's say you select 
192.168.1.0 as the network number; which covers 254 individual addresses, from 192.168.1.1 to 
192.168.1.254 (zero and 255 are reserved). In other words, the first three numbers specify the 
network number while the last number identifies an individual computer on that network.

Once you have decided on the network number, pick an IP address that is easy to remember, for 
instance, 192.168.1.2, for your device, but make sure that no other device on your network is 
using that IP address.

The subnet mask specifies the network number portion of an IP address. Your device will compute 
the subnet mask automatically based on the IP address that you entered. You don't need to change 
the subnet mask computed by the device unless you are instructed to do otherwise.

Table 27   

Private IP Address Ranges

10.0.0.0         -     10.255.255.255

172.16.0.0      -     172.31.255.255

192.168.0.0    -     192.168.255.255