Why is 192.168 used

What is an IP Address?

The IP address of a computer is the unique combination of numbers assigned to it which acts as an identifier for that particular computer within the network. It acts much like the mail system as the computers use the IP addresses to send specific data to the specific computers via the network. The term IP address is used to denote the unique identifiers as per the TCP/IP Protocol. There are two main types of IP addresses, IPv4 and IPv6, the latter being the more popular and widely used. IPv4 addresses use 32 binary bits in order to form a single address that consists of 4 numbers, each of which is divided by decimal points. IPv6 addresses on the other hand are formed from 128 binary bits and have 8 hexadecimal numbers, each of which are separated by colons.

What is 192.168?

Actually, 192.168 are first two of the four numbers that come together to form a series of private Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in between 192.168.0.0 and 192.168.255.255. It’s the third among the three ranges of IP addresses that are currently worked by private networks that use TCP/IP under IPv4 (RFC 1918); often referred to as the Class C private range. The other two series of IP addresses under IPv4 ranges from 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255 and 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255. All IP addresses starting with 192.168 are private in nature, thus making them non-routable. The specific blocks were induced in order to avoid conflicts between network addresses and routable public IPs on the internet. Probably the most popular private IP address is 192.168.1.1 as it is the default IP for most routers.

Why is it Used?

It is one of the three defined ranges of private IP addresses that one must use in a private network to identify itself within that network. While any value within the aforementioned ranges can be used, one cannot employ any value outside these defined ranges in compliance with the RFC 1918. Therefore, people use the range of IP addresses that begin with 192.168 as it is one of the limited options available to them under IPv4.

How is 192.168.x.x Different from the Other Two ranges?

There is no theoretical difference between the three ranges so it is mostly a matter of choosing one over the other. One can even utilize the three different IP ranges to run three separate networks as that makes it easier to identify the computers that are using the addresses. However, 192.168 is more suited for smaller networks simply because of the numerical advantage that the other two ranges have over it. Putting it as simply as possible, the number of computers which can work within a private network while using the IP range 192.168.x.x would certainly be smaller (254 hosts) than the number of computers that can work within the IP range of 10.x.x.x or even 172.16.x.x. The reason behind this being the fact that all IP addresses using the 192.168.x.x range must have two fixed variables (192.168) while the other two will offer more flexibility. It is for this reason as to why 192.168.x.x is preferable for smaller networks while 10.x.x.x is more suitable for the largest private networks.