IP Addressing and Subnetting: IPv4 and IPv6

Read, plan and configure IPv4 and IPv6 addresses with confidence, from binary and masks to subnetting, VLSM and SLAAC, proved on devices in Packet Tracer.

Beginner · Networking · about 12 hours · 4 modules · certificate on completion

Taught by Bintà Yusupovà, Sekouù Camàra, AI Learning Companions.

About this course

Every device on a network needs the right address, and every network needs a plan that doesn't run out, overlap or waste space. This course teaches you to read, plan and configure IP addresses with confidence. You'll start with binary and hexadecimal, see how a mask splits an address into network and host, and work out network, broadcast and host ranges for any prefix. Then you'll subnet networks for the number of subnets or hosts you need, plan VLSM schemes that fit networks of different sizes, and learn the private and special ranges. In IPv6 you'll write and shorten 128-bit addresses, tell global, unique local, link-local and multicast addresses apart, and see how hosts build their own addresses with SLAAC and EUI-64.

Every calculation is worked step by step, and every plan is proved on devices: you'll configure Cisco routers and PCs in Packet Tracer and check your answers against the routing table, ipconfig and ping. Each module ends with a lab your instructor reviews, including one where you find and fix planted mistakes, and the course ends with a project in which you address a growing company's network. The course follows the IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and subnetting topics in Cisco's published CCNA (200-301) exam topics.

What you'll learn

  • Convert between binary, decimal and hexadecimal, and read the structure of any IPv4 address
  • Work out the network, broadcast and host range of any address and mask, in dotted decimal or CIDR notation
  • Subnet a network for a number of subnets or hosts, and plan efficient VLSM schemes
  • Identify private, public and special-purpose IPv4 ranges, and explain why private addresses need NAT
  • Write and shorten IPv6 addresses, name their types, and explain SLAAC and EUI-64
  • Configure and verify IPv4 and IPv6 addresses on Cisco routers and PCs in Packet Tracer

Skills you'll gain

IPv4 addressing, Binary and hexadecimal, Subnet masks and CIDR, Subnetting, VLSM, Private addressing, IPv6 addressing, SLAAC and EUI-64, Cisco IOS interface configuration, Cisco Packet Tracer

Tools

Cisco Packet Tracer

Before you start

Comfort with basic arithmetic. No networking experience is needed, though knowing what a router and an IP address are helps; Networking Fundamentals covers that. You need Cisco Packet Tracer (free with a Cisco Networking Academy account), and pen and paper for the calculations.

Aligned with: Cisco CCNA (200-301) exam topics: IPv4 and IPv6 addressing and subnetting

Modules

  1. Binary and the IPv4 address

    Count in binary and hexadecimal, see how an IPv4 address splits into network and host, and meet the address ranges that have special jobs.

    • Binary, decimal and hexadecimal (12 min)
    • Network and host: inside an IPv4 address (12 min)
    • Classes, private addresses and special ranges (12 min)
    • Hands-on lab: Work out address ranges, then let a router confirm them

  2. Subnetting and VLSM

    Divide a network into subnets that fit the number of networks and hosts you need, step by step, then plan subnets of different sizes from one block with VLSM.

    • Dividing a network into equal subnets (14 min)
    • Sizing subnets for the hosts you need (12 min)
    • VLSM: subnets of different sizes (14 min)
    • Hands-on lab: Plan and build a VLSM network

  3. IPv6 addressing

    Read and write 128-bit IPv6 addresses, shorten them correctly, tell the address types apart, and see how hosts configure themselves with SLAAC and EUI-64.

    • Reading and shortening IPv6 addresses (12 min)
    • IPv6 address types (12 min)
    • SLAAC, DHCPv6 and EUI-64 (14 min)
    • Hands-on lab: IPv6 by hand and in Packet Tracer

  4. Configure and verify addresses on devices

    Put addressing plans onto devices: IPv4 and IPv6 together on routers and hosts, the commands that prove they're right, and the mistakes that most often break them.

    • Dual-stack configuration on routers and hosts (12 min)
    • Verifying addresses and fixing common mistakes (12 min)
    • Hands-on lab: Build and fix a dual-stack network

Project: Address a growing company's network

A company with a head office and two branches has been given 10.40.0.0/20 for IPv4 and 2001:db8:40::/48 for IPv6. The head office needs a staff LAN for 900 hosts, a guest LAN for 200 and a server LAN for 60; each branch needs a LAN for 100 hosts; and the three sites are joined by three point-to-point links between routers. Plan the IPv4 addresses with VLSM, largest first, and leave room to grow. Give every LAN and link a /64 from the IPv6 /48, with a subnet ID scheme you can explain. Then build the head office in Packet Tracer: one 2911 router with its three LANs, dual-stack, with a switch and at least one PC on each LAN, set statically or by SLAAC. Verify every address, and finish with a short guide that would let someone new look after the plan.

Part of

Cisco, CCNA, Cisco IOS and Cisco Packet Tracer are trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. This course is independent: Cisco hasn't made or endorsed it, and it doesn't give you a Cisco certification.

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