Mohsin
Votes: 0Posted On: May 17, 2017 06:21:46
"10.0.0.0/8" refers to an IP address block. It comprises of two parts - The IP address and the Subnet.
IP Address (10.0.0.0) - It is the global addressing scheme used under Internet Protocol. Any network device in the world can be recognized with its IP address. The IP addresses are allocated to each device and are unique. IP addresses are 32-bit numbers with every 8 bits separated by a decimal. There are two types of IP addresses- Public and Private. Public IP addresses are unique and assigned to a network(Group of computers) collectively like in an office. However, the multiple systems in the office are assigned private IPs that are common and can be assigned to the systems of other organization.
Subnet or IP block (/8) - Imagine you are the owner of a production server that comprises of multiple ports and services. Also, you encounter a lot of data traffic on daily basis. You would require multiple IP addresses or an IP range to fulfill various tasks. The process of subnetting was designed to divide the IP addresses into small blocks. The "/" notation along with the number is called prefix.
Calculation of IP range - The "/ " notation after the IP address can be used to calculate the IP address range that falls under that category. All you have to do is subtract the prefix from the number 32(As IP addresses is a 32 bit number). Put the result as an exponent of 2 and you will get the number of IPs in that range.
For instance, to find the IP range of "/8" prefix, we subtract The prefix 8 from 32. The result 24 is used as an exponent of 2. Hence, the IP range you get is "2 to the power 24" i.e 16777216 IPs.
Hence, "10.0.0.0/8" refers to an IP block ranging from "10.0.0.0" to "10.255.255.255".
With this method you will be able to calculate any IP range that is provided to you.