Types of addresses and networks

1. Types of addresses

* Network Address
- Standard way to refer to a network, e.g. "the 10.0.0.0 network.“
- All hosts in it have the same network bits (high-order bits).
- The lowest address: reserved for the network address.
- The part routers use to forward packets
 
* Broadcast Address
- Special address allowing communication to all hosts in a network.
- Send a single packet addressed to the broadcast address, it’ll be sent to all hosts in
  the network.
- Uses the highest address in the network range.
 
* Host Address
- Unique address that belong to every end device
- The values range between the network address and the broadcast address.

2. Types of networks

* Unicast 
- The process of sending a packet from one host to an individual host.  
- Used for all normal traffic.
 
* Broadcast 
- The process of sending a packet from one host to all hosts in the network.
- Used for the location of special services/devices for which the address is not known or
  when a host needs to provide information to all the hosts on the network.
 
* Multicast 
- The process of sending a packet from one host to a selected group of hosts. 
- e.g. Video & audio distribution, Routing information exchange by routing protocols,
  Distribution of software, News feeds