Tech Tip: IP Address and Subnet Mask from AutomationDirect

with more automation direct products being internet-capable what do we need to know to get your network up and running let's start by describing some of the components an IP address so we have this plc that has the following IP address we can see that this address is made up of four number groups separated by decimal points each of these groups can be a possible number range of 0 to 255 so how can you determine what this plc can talk to this is done by using the IP address along with the subnet mask the subnet mask is also made up of four number groups and each number group matches up to the IP addresses number group to define what it can talk to if the subnet mask number portion is 255 this means that the IP address number portions must match for communication when the subnet masks octet is 0 however the IP addresses number portions can be any valid number in the range let's see some examples to make this point clear so we have plza we can see that the first three octet of the subnet masks are 255 and the last is 0 this means that a device wanted to communicate with this plc we need to be 192 168 dot one dot something now let's add in PLCB to our switch well these two devices be able to talk yes as you see the first three number groups of the IP addresses match and the last is different now let's add em plcc to our switch well this plc be able to talk with other PLC's know we can see that the third group of ppl cc's IP address does not match the other PLC's how can we make all three of these devices talk to one another easy we would just have to redefine the subnet mask of all these devices to be 255 dot 250 500 now I'll all the devices can talk to one another when the IP address and the subnet mask combined to allow devices to talk to one another this is called a subnet how do we handle talking devices outside of their subnets this will be discussed in the next video called gateway address if you need any help with using automation direct ethernet capable device please contact automationdirect's free award winning tech support team during regular business hours they will be happy to help and don't forget the forum's there's lots of folks there that love to share their years of experience just don't post questions directed at automationdirect's technical support staff there they do not monitor the forums on a regular basis