04-18-2012 03:35 AM - edited 03-07-2019 06:11 AM
Hi Folks,
I'm planning to create a network for 320 hosts, I'll use a class B address 172.16.0.0 with a subnet mask 255.255.254.0 so the valid host range will be
172.16.0.1 - 172.16.1.254. Is it a good idea? or any suggestion will be appreciated? Thanks.
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04-18-2012 04:29 AM
Personally I would never go more than a /23 network and even then it would depend how heavy the traffic is on the subnet . You are also affecting a lot more people if you have an issue on the subnet if you have a single subnet as opposed to multiple subnets at a /24 .
04-18-2012 10:37 AM
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The Author of this posting offers the information contained within this posting without consideration and with the reader's understanding that there's no implied or expressed suitability or fitness for any purpose. Information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as rendering professional advice of any kind. Usage of this posting's information is solely at reader's own risk.
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Posting
But what's the maximum number of host can I have in a single broadcast domain?? taking into account QoS, network congestion etc...??
That's the 64 bit question, and "it depends".
Broadcasts have two principle adverse effects. The consume bandwidth. They force hosts to examine them, even if they are not relevant to the receiving host.
Broadcasts can also easily trigger high network usage. (For example, one broadcast ping might have every host issue a ping reply.)
Picking a subnet size, to handle a specific number of hosts, really has much to do with network usage expectations especially concerning broadcasts. /24 is popular as typically we rarely encounter broadcast related issues on that size network with typical hosts with typical network usage.
Assuming overall broadcast frequency and bandwidth usage is consistent regardless of host's NIC bandwidth, higher NIC bandwidth's with better host processing performance should allow for higher number of hosts per subnet. I.e. newer hosts with "faster" LAN would allow many more hosts per subnet. However, the risk is, this assumes linear expansion, but with broadcast, especially with DoS attacks, broadcasts can trigger exponential network consumption (i.e. broadcast storm).
In your case, real world, if you have 100 Mbps or better switched network, but no L3 switch, I wouldn't be too concerned about 300 modern typical hosts on one L2 broadcast domain. However, if you also had a L3 switch, I would probably keep to the traditional /24.
04-18-2012 03:41 AM
Is that enough???
<510 available IP addresses is enough?
04-18-2012 03:48 AM
Yes Sir,
It will be enough for 320 hosts !! Ain't it?
04-18-2012 03:55 AM
Tell you what ...
Configure for /23 but reserve a /22. If you ran out ...
04-18-2012 04:03 AM
Thanks good idea too.
But what's the maximum number of host can I have in a single broadcast domain?? taking into account QoS, network congestion etc...??
04-18-2012 04:29 AM
Personally I would never go more than a /23 network and even then it would depend how heavy the traffic is on the subnet . You are also affecting a lot more people if you have an issue on the subnet if you have a single subnet as opposed to multiple subnets at a /24 .
04-18-2012 05:48 AM
yeah a /23 is better than a /22 especially when dealing with VOIP traffic but we can't neither have multiple subnets at a /24 because we use several gateways for ADSL connections. Thanks glen.
04-18-2012 10:37 AM
Disclaimer
The Author of this posting offers the information contained within this posting without consideration and with the reader's understanding that there's no implied or expressed suitability or fitness for any purpose. Information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as rendering professional advice of any kind. Usage of this posting's information is solely at reader's own risk.
Liability Disclaimer
In no event shall Author be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of use, data or profit) arising out of the use or inability to use the posting's information even if Author has been advised of the possibility of such damage.
Posting
But what's the maximum number of host can I have in a single broadcast domain?? taking into account QoS, network congestion etc...??
That's the 64 bit question, and "it depends".
Broadcasts have two principle adverse effects. The consume bandwidth. They force hosts to examine them, even if they are not relevant to the receiving host.
Broadcasts can also easily trigger high network usage. (For example, one broadcast ping might have every host issue a ping reply.)
Picking a subnet size, to handle a specific number of hosts, really has much to do with network usage expectations especially concerning broadcasts. /24 is popular as typically we rarely encounter broadcast related issues on that size network with typical hosts with typical network usage.
Assuming overall broadcast frequency and bandwidth usage is consistent regardless of host's NIC bandwidth, higher NIC bandwidth's with better host processing performance should allow for higher number of hosts per subnet. I.e. newer hosts with "faster" LAN would allow many more hosts per subnet. However, the risk is, this assumes linear expansion, but with broadcast, especially with DoS attacks, broadcasts can trigger exponential network consumption (i.e. broadcast storm).
In your case, real world, if you have 100 Mbps or better switched network, but no L3 switch, I wouldn't be too concerned about 300 modern typical hosts on one L2 broadcast domain. However, if you also had a L3 switch, I would probably keep to the traditional /24.
04-18-2012 10:02 PM
Thanks JosephDoherty,that's really helpful but unfortunately there's no L3 switch in our network and they don't want to invest in networking equipements, as network admin we all know the importance of a better switch and VLAN.
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