Host address

The host address, or more properly the host id portion of an IP address is the portion of the address used to identify hosts (which can be any device requiring a Network Interface Card such a personal computer or networked printer) on the network. The network id by contrast is the portion of the address that refers to the network itself.

Example:

Your local network has an address of 194.0.0.0 /30, or

Your network id is the first 30 binary digits (See Classless Inter-Domain Routing), or 11000010.00000000.00000000.000000**. The host address is the last two digits, marked by an asterix. By changing those two digits, you can create the following complete IP addresses:

11000010.00000000.00000000.00000000 (The address of the network itself, 194.0.0.0)
11000010.00000000.00000000.00000001 (194.0.0.1, an address available for a host on your network)
11000010.00000000.00000000.00000010 (194.0.0.2, another available address)
11000010.00000000.00000000.00000011 (194.0.0.3, the broadcast address for your network)

See also

• CIDR
• IPv4
• network address

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