What is a Broadcast Address?
The last address in a subnet, used to send packets to all devices in that network.
Detailed Explanation
A broadcast address has all host bits set to 1. When a packet is sent to this address, it's delivered to every device in the subnet. This is useful for protocols like ARP and DHCP discovery. However, broadcasts don't cross router boundaries, which is why subnetting helps contain broadcast traffic and improve network performance.
Examples
- •192.168.1.255 - Broadcast for 192.168.1.0/24
- •10.0.255.255 - Broadcast for 10.0.0.0/16
- •172.16.15.255 - Broadcast for 172.16.15.0/24