IP Address Planning for Small Network

IP address planning is essential for implementing a small network. All hosts within the small network should have a unique address, so we required IP address planning. The network administrator must plan and make the document the IP addressing scheme.  The administrator should also maintain IP addresses based on the type of device to configure the addresses. The different types of devices that require IP addresses are:-

· Servers

· End devices

· Intermediary devices

· Hosts that are accessible from the Internet

The figure below illustrates the devices that need IP address planning to assign an IPv4 address.

Proper IP address planning and documentation are necessary for helping the network administrator to track device types and troubleshoot. Usually, the network administrator knows the ranges of IP addresses assigned to devices.

For example, if all hosts are assigned an IP address ranging from 100 to 200 and the servers are assigned an IP address between the range of 220 – to 250, it is easy to find the traffic by IP address, and it is beneficial when troubleshooting the network traffic issues using a protocol analyzer. Suppose the IP address scheme is properly documented.  Then the network administrator can easily control access to the available resources on the network.

The IP addressing scheme is necessary for hosts that provide resources to internal and external networks, such as e-commerce servers. Without proper planning, security and accessibility are not possible. If a host has a random address assigned from the address range, blocking access to this host is difficult. Different device types should assign their own logical block of addresses within the network’s address range.

When you are a network administrator and want to set up a small network, if you only have a few computers, you may assign your network private IP addresses from the 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255 range. There are enough addresses available for a small network. If your laptop needs internet access, you may need a public IP address, which you must buy from ISPs.