Question

Your local IP address is 192.168.0.14 with a netmask of 255.255.0.0. Your default route is 192.168.0.1. You would like to connect to 192.168.37.5. Discuss what devices your network traffic would flow through and how your local system will make that decision.

Answer 1

Given IP: 192.168.0.14

Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0 = /16

Default Route: 192.168.0.1

Dest Address: 192.168.37.5

Therefore, /16 = 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000

Number of subnet = 1

Number of usable host: 192.168.0.1 - 192.168.255.254

Hosts = 2^16 = 65536

So, the destination address comes under the same subnet range and the source machine can able to connect to the machine using a switch also. Here no router is required. Through a switch that source machine can able to conect to the destination machine easily. You just have to use an ether cable for the connectivity.

How the machine will make the decision:

The source machine will sends a broadcast message to all other hosts present in the network through the switch and in that broadcast message that source machine will attach the Destination IP address. Now switch uses an ARP table or the Address Resolution Table where the switch has information of the IP address along with the MAC address. So, when the broadcast message reached to the switch it will check the MAC address of the Destination IP and then forward the message to that IP(192.168.37.5).