What is the difference between network addresses and host addresses?

• A. Network addresses identify the network; host addresses identify individual machines.
• B. Network addresses identify hosts; host addresses identify the network.
• C. Both identify the same concept; no difference.
• D. Network addresses identify routers only.

Answer: (A)

Think of an IPv4 address as having two parts: the network part and the host part. The boundary between them is set by the subnet mask. The network portion identifies which network the address belongs to, while the host portion identifies a specific device within that network.

So, a network address is the identifier for the entire network itself. It’s what routers look at to decide where to send packets heading to that network. A host address identifies an individual machine on that network, allowing packets to reach a particular device.

For example, on a 192.168.1.0/24 network, the network address is 192.168.1.0, which labels the whole 192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255 range. The hosts within that network have addresses like 192.168.1.1 through 192.168.1.254. The 192.168.1.255 address is used for broadcast within that network.

The other options don’t fit because they mischaracterize what the two parts identify: one identifies the network versus a specific device, or claim there’s no difference, or incorrectly says network addresses only identify routers.