To transfer data between devices, they are combined into networks. An IP address is assigned to each device to identify it in the network. IP addresses are assigned according to IPv4 and IPv6 network protocol standards.

Each network consists of multiple IP addresses. Usually one of them is the gateway for the others. Packets for devices in other networks are sent through the gateway. This allows to access devices from other networks.

The network can be broken down into blocks of IP addresses. IP address blocks are logically assembled into pools.

IP address networks

The main purpose of physical networks in the platform is accounting of address space. The platform does not interact with physical networks directly.

IPv4

IPv4 addresses are usually written as four decimal numbers from 0 to 255 separated by dots. E.g., 192.168.0.3.

The bit mask determines the range of addresses included in the network. For example, the 255.255.255.0 mask for the network 10.0.0.0 indicates that this network consists of addresses from 10.0.0.0 to 10.0.0.255. Often the mask is written as a prefix to shorten the total recording. For example, mask 255.255.255.0 corresponds to the prefix /24.

The start address of an IPv4 network is called the network address and is used to identify it. The end address is called the broadcast address and is used to send data to all devices on the network. All other addresses can be assigned to the devices.

For example, the network 192.168.0.0/24 includes all addresses from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.0.255. Devices in the network can be assigned addresses from 192.168.0.1 to 192.168.0.254.

Note

In clusters with the IP fabric network configuration type, you can use all IP addresses to assign to devices. To do this, enable the Do not use service IP addresses option when creating the network.

IPv6

An IPv6 address has the form of eight hexadecimal numbers separated by colons. E.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

The network prefix defines the range of addresses included in the network. For example, the record 2001:0db8:85a3:0001::/64 means that addresses from 2001:0db8:85a3:0001:0000:0000:0000 to 2001:0db8:85a3:0001:ffff:ffff:ffff are included into the network.

In contrast to IPv4 addresses, devices on a network can be assigned with all of its addresses, including the start and end addresses.

In VMmanager you can create an IPv6 network with prefix length from 32 to 96.

Blocks and pools of IP addresses

The physical network can be broken down into blocks. For example, the network 192.168.0.0/24 can be broken down into individual addresses (192.168.0.1), addresses by mask prefix (192.168.0.16/28) or address ranges (192.168.0.1-192.168.0.5).

IP address blocks are logically assembled into pools. For example, pools can be used to:

  • divide the address blocks into public and private ones;
  • allocate addresses to a specific group of VMs;
  • allocate addresses to another platform with which integration is configured.

A pool can include any set of IP addresses from one or more physical networks.

The connection of an IP address to a pool indicates from which pool that address was allocated. One address can be in more than one pool or not be in any pool.

Using IP addresses in VMmanager

Allocation of IP addresses to virtual machines (VMs) depends on the type of cluster in which these VMs are located. For more information, see Cluster network configurations.

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