Private IP addresses offer numerous benefits to end users and network administrators alike. They provide additional security to end users while accessing resources on the Internet. They also help with scalability and administration concerns in Ball State's large Ethernet network.
Common questions asked about private IP addressing
1. What is a private IP address?
A private IP address is any address that cannot be used on the Internet. For a device with a private address to communicate to a device on the Internet, the private IP address needs to be translated to a public IP address. This is often referred to as NAT or Network Address Translation. This allows organizations like Ball State to use private IP addresses internally and then translate the private address to a public address when it travels onto the Internet.
2. How do I know if my IP address is private?
Any IP address in the following ranges, is considered to be private: 192.168.0.0 - 192.168.255.255, 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255, 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255
3. When did Ball State start using private IP addresses?
Ball State made the switch to private IP addresses throughout the 2000-2001 academic year.
4. What are the advantages to using private IP addresses as opposed to public addresses.
Using private IP addresses as opposed to public addresses, offers many benefits to both network administrators and the end user. Private IP addresses help network administrators efficiently design the campus network to reduce load on the routers used across campus. It also provides security for end users due to the translation between public and private IP addresses when communicating to devices on the Internet.
5. How many public and private IP addresses does Ball State have?
Ball State has been allocated 65,536 addresses for use on the Internet and we have over 16 million private addresses at our disposal for use on the internal campus network.