Re: 14.1-R rc.conf/ifconfig netmask issue was really hard to figure out

From: Rodney W. Grimes <freebsd-rwg_at_gndrsh.dnsmgr.net>
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 2024 20:54:10 UTC
> On Fri, Jun 14, 2024 at 06:42:09AM GMT, Rodney W. Grimes wrote:
> > > "Poul-Henning Kamp" <phk@phk.freebsd.dk> writes:
> > > 
> > > > Defaulting to a /8 netmask for 192.168.x.y does not make *any* sense ever.
> > > 
> > > Well, not in the last 30 years or so, anyway.
> > 
> > No, never ever did /8 make since on 192.*.*.*, that has always been
> > class C address space.
> 
> I think what Poul-Henning meant is that 31 years ago, in 1993, classless
> inter-domain routing (CIDR) was introduced by the IETF, and it rendered
> "class"es of ip addresses obsoletes.
> 
> So, class C address spaces has been dead for 31 years :-)

NO!  That is an incorrect interpretation of what CIDR does, CIDR did
NOT remove the Class A/B/C applied to address space, it simply added
functionality (supernetting and subnetting) of the A/B/C space that
allows you to do things DIFFERENT than the default /8 /16 and /24
bit prefix length that classfull addresses implied.

> -- 
> Mathieu Arnold
-- 
Rod Grimes                                                 rgrimes@freebsd.org