Private IP Address 172 Explained in Simple Terms

In computer networking, private IP addresses allow direct communication among devices within a local network by preventing direct exposure to the internet. Among the three major classes of private IP addresses, 172 from Class B use the number range 172.16.0/12 to 172.31.255.255. That is 1,048,576 distinct addresses available, which is very useful for well-sized organizations, corporate networks, and also to educational institutions. Unlike public IP addresses, which are issued by ISPs and routable over the internet, private IP address types never go external and must go through Network Address Translation (NAT) to allow interaction with the outside. This strongens cybersecurity by limiting access to unauthorized users and reducing risks from cyber attacks. Private IP Address 172 grants the right balance of scalability and efficiency to let businesses manage a large set of devices while holding control of the network. Compared to Class A, which offers much larger address space, this smaller scale type B is right to networks that just need to manage a moderate number of hosts and avoid being wasteful with IP addresses. As 4th generation IPv4 becomes more scarce, these 172 address ranges also continue playing a vital role in optimal network design and security. Finalizing this right way helps ensure communication runs comfortably without glitches and sharing resources is easy and safe.