Private network

[connann]

After typing ifconfig in my terminal, I get the Ipadress: 192.168.etc. (I don't think it is smart to post my whole IP-number).

I have just studied subnetworking and I can't figure out why I have a private IP-adress and a mask of 255.255.255.0. It a class-c network!

So, two questions:
1. Why do I have a private IP-adress
2. Why do I have as subnetmask 255.255.255.0

This is a question for those who have real knowledge about networking.
Thanks beforehand.

[protocentux]

Hi connann,

1. It's part of the Internet addressing architecture, the fact that private networks were designed for home and offices (LANs), and in this case, your modem has the Public IP address assigned by your ISP. Such device assigns you a Private IP address via DHCP, and it does NAT all your requests.
By the way, ifconfig command shows the IP address that was assigned either statically or dynamically(via DHCP) to your NIC. If you need to know your Public IP address you can search for an IP Address lookup service in internet.

2. The subnet masks and the IP addresses range are determined by your modem configuration. There are some modems that you can configure to set your own values.

Regards,
Protocentux

[connann]

Thank you for your reply, protocentux.