Which class would you choose to maximize host capacity per network?

• A. Class A
• B. Class B
• C. Class C
• D. Class D

Answer: (A)

Maximizing hosts per network means keeping as many addresses available for hosts as possible within one network prefix. In the traditional classful IPv4 scheme, the class determines how many bits are dedicated to the host portion. Class A uses 24 bits for hosts, giving 2^24 minus 2 usable addresses per network (16,777,214). Class B provides 65,534 hosts per network, Class C 254, and Class D is for multicast, not unicast host addressing. Since Class A has the largest host portion, it yields the greatest number of hosts per network.