network address

In computer networking, the term network address may refer to one of the following:A network layer address, i.e. a logical address such as an IP address, X.25/X.21 address or IPX address. The  base address of a classful address range to an organization, i.e. an  autonomous system. In order to facilitate the routing process the logical address is divided into two pieces; the network address and the host address. This works much like a postal address where the network address would represent the city and the host address would represent the street address. The subnet mask is used in conjunction with the network address to determine which part of the address is the network address and which part is the host address.A link layer address, such as a MAC address.
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<networking> 1. The network portion of an IP address. For a class A network, the network address is the first byte of the IP address. For a class B network, the network address is the first two bytes of the IP address. For a class C network, the network address is the first three bytes of the IP address. In each case, the remainder is the host address. In the Internet, assigned network addresses are globally unique.
See also subnet address, Internet Registry.
2. (Or "net address") An electronic mail address on the network. In the 1980s this might have been a bang path but now (1997) it is nearly always a domain address. Such an address is essential if one wants to be to be taken seriously by hackers; in particular, persons or organisations that claim to understand, work with, sell to, or recruit from among hackers but *don't* display net addresses are quietly presumed to be clueless poseurs and mentally flushed.
Hackers often put their net addresses on their business cards and wear them prominently in contexts where they expect to meet other hackers face-to-face (e.g. science-fiction fandom). This is mostly functional, but is also a signal that one identifies with hackerdom (like lodge pins among Masons or tie-dyed T-shirts among Grateful Dead fans). Net addresses are often used in e-mail text as a more concise substitute for personal names; indeed, hackers may come to know each other quite well by network names without ever learning each others' real monikers.
See also sitename, domainist.
[Jargon File]
(1997-05-10)