[X-Newbies] IP Addresses

[Chris Walker]

Hi all,

This is not directly an OSX question but can someone enlighten me as to
the use of IP addresses on internal LANs.

From observation it seems that most domestic routers allocate internal IP
addresses either in the 192.168.x.x  or 10.x.x.x ranges.  Are these
ranges defined specifically for this purpose - ie internal addresses - or
are there other ranges reserved for internal use?

Is it possible to  choose to use my own, (say 164.128.50.12 or some other
random address)?  If so, could someone point me towards something that
explains how to work out an appropriate subnet mask.  You will gather I
know little about networking!!

cheers,

Chris