What is a subnet mask?
A subnet mask is used to tell what messages are for this network and which are for another network. A
subnet mask consists of 4 “octets” of numbers ranging from 0 to 255. The subnet masks should match on all
devices that are part of the same network.
Example
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
The 255 in the first three octets forces the listening device to listen to any messages where the first three
octets of the incoming IP address match. If the receiving device’s IP address is 192.168.1.100 and the
incoming message is from IP address 192.168.1.2, then the device should listen.
Basic networking – Wide area networks
What is a Wide Area Network?
A wide area network is collection of networks that are not physically connected together. Accessing your
home network remotely from an office or other place away from your home is a WAN.
How does your home network connect to the Internet?
Your home network is connected to the Internet via a gateway device. Cable modems and DSL modems are
examples of gateway devices. Sometimes gateway devices are also routers.
What is a gateway IP address?
A gateway is a device that connects your network to the Internet such as a cable modem or DSL router. The
gateway address only needs to be setup when you want to remotely access a device on your network from
another device on the Internet. If your network is not connected to the Internet, then the gateway address
is not used. If your device does not need to be accessed from the Internet, then the gateway address is also
not used. The gateway address on a device should be set to the address of the gateway device. In most
cases this is your network router.
Example
Router IP address: 192.168.1.1
Gateway address of devices attached to router: 192.168.1.1
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