Maximum hosts per broadcast domain ?

[jordyberkers]

Hi,

How many hosts per broadcast domain are legit for an /16 ip address ?

[Tom Watts]

Hi Jordy, the answer is 65534 with 63536 addresses.

Although I don't see it practical to have 65k hosts in 1 broadcast domain it is legitimate...

If you "seriously" want to design a network I'd recommend you scope out how many hosts you have and manage different subnets/vlans based on current needs and forecasted growth.

-Tom
Please mark answered for helpful posts

[viningele]

I read the other day that cisco recommends a max of 500 but that depends on what your hosts do and the quality of your gear.  If the hosts are working with video or large graphic files then you might want smaller groups and likewise if you're using residential grade products you would also want smaller groups.