[PLUG] (no subject)

[Paul Heinlein]

On 8/4/05 8:53 AM, Mike Neal wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Trying to help a student connect to Comcast via a cable modem:
> 
> NETMASK=255.255.248.0
> IPADDR=24.20.92.89
> GATEWAY=24.20.88.1
> 
> It appears the gateway is on a different network. Is that allowed?

Yep.

Your concept of "different network" is perhaps too heavily influenced by 
the current custom of using 8-bit netmasks (i.e., 255.255.255.0, 
resulting in "class C" network segments) just about everywhere.

It wasn't always so. It used to be that universities with an entire 
class-B network (e.g., 130.50.0.0/255.255.0.0) used to put the 
255.255.0.0 netmask on *every* machine. Broadcasts were sent to 
potentially thousands of machines. And the default gateway was almost 
certainly on a different "class C" network than your workstation.

The size of a network is pretty arbitrary. It needn't be X.Y.Z.0-255. 
Using netmasking it can range from the entire IPv4 address space (mask 
0.0.0.0) all the way down to a single host (mask 255.255.255.255).

-- 
Paul Heinlein <> heinlein at madboa.com <> www.madboa.com