Special Use IPv4 Addresses
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M. Cotton, L. Vegoda · 2010-01
Abstract
RFC 5735 documents the IPv4 address blocks that IANA has reserved for special purposes, including private addresses (10/8, 172.16/12, 192.168/16), loopback (127/8), link-local (169.254/16), multicast (224/4), documentation (192.0.2/24, 198.51.100/24, 203.0.113/24), and the limited broadcast address. It provides routing guidance for each range. RFC 5735 was obsoleted by RFC 6890.
Why This RFC Matters
Understanding which IPv4 ranges are reserved and must not appear in global routing tables is fundamental to network security and correct configuration. RFC 5735 served as the authoritative reference for special-use addresses, informing firewall rules, bogon filters, and IANA policy. Its documentation address ranges (192.0.2/24 etc.) are used in countless textbooks, tutorials, and RFC examples, preventing accidental use of real addresses in documentation.