3com 3CRWE52196 User Guide

The Internet protocol suite consists of a well-defined set of 
communications protocols and several standard application protocols. 
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is probably the 
most widely known and is a combination of two of the protocols (IP and 
TCP) working together. TCP/IP is an internationally adopted and 
supported networking standard that provides connectivity between 
equipment from many vendors over a wide variety of networking 
technologies.

To manage a device over the network, the Gateway must be correctly 
configured with the following IP information:

■

An IP address

■

A Subnet Mask

Each device on your network must have a unique IP address to operate 
correctly. An IP address identifies the address of the device to which data 
is being sent and the address of the destination network. IP addresses 
have the format n.n.n.x where n is a decimal number between 0 and 255 
and x is a number between 1 and 254 inclusive.

However, an IP Address alone is not enough to make your device operate. 
In addition to the IP address, you need to set a subnet mask. All networks 
are divided into smaller sub-networks and a subnet mask is a number 
that enables a device to identify the sub-network to which it is 
connected.