Default Network Subnets(RFC932) in Windows XP
In 2006, I doubt there is any networks out there that use a full /16 or a full /8 in the one network. CIDR(RFC1519), published in 1993 was made to break down /16’s and /8’s into smaller, more usable and waste-less networks. Imagine using a full /8 (1,000,000+ computers) in the one network. The amount of network broadcasts, and retransmissions, let alone the ARP requests/tables would make it impossible.
Now, with that in mind, and the RFC in place since 1993, why does Windows XP, an OS create in the late 90’s, still default to a RFC 932/1918 styled subnet mask when placing an IP into the TCP/IP settings?
It wonder what the developer was thinking when he coded that.