Probably a really stupid theoretical ip address question 1

[iolair]

I have a class c subnet, so I have the possibility of 256 hosts. My question is, have there ever been any studies to suggest that the address at x.x.x.1 would have any kind of priority or speed enhancement over the address at say x.x.x.253? Thanks for any thoughts you might have on this.

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer

 

[robertjo24]

With a class C subnet, you have a possability of 254 hosts.
xxx.xxx.xxx.0 is the network address and xxx.xxx.xxx.255 is the broadcast address, neither is usable as a host address
There will be no speed difference based only upon host IP address.

The only time you would see a "speed" difference for one host over another is if there are access lists on routers/switches giving prefernce, or if the network has QOS implemented.

 

[iolair]

Thanks. I sometimes forget about the broadcast and net addresses, thanks for the reminder. I have no access lists or QoS on this subnet. I just wondered if there were any priorities based on order of address. Interesting, thanks for answering.

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer

 

[vipergg]

Nope the ip address is just a number to differentiate one device from another . The routing device doesn't care if its .1 or .250 .

 

[iolair]

Thanks for all the great responses.

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer

 

[VinceWhirlwind]

I've noticed Multicasting electing as querier based on lowest IP address, so I consider this a good reason to put .1 from each subnet on my router.

 

[PScottC]

You're talking about the difference between 00000001 and 11111101. Notice the number of bits is the same? Yeah... The bits are always transmitted, regardless of what they are. So no performance difference.

In larger networks, it's convenient to use the same number for your LAN gateways, which is why you usually see .1.

PSC
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[iolair]

Makes sense now. I use .1 for my gateways, and keep all the switches, routers, and servers below .50 if possible, but it's more to make it easy to admin than anything else. Thanks.

Iolair MacWalter
Network Engineer