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You are here: PacificCable.com A Real Example (cont)

www.freesoft.org's IP address, 208.130.29.33, is shown expanded into binary, with each of its address prefixes expanded and labeled.

So, which address prefix would actually be used? That depends on your location in the network. From a distant Internet provider, the single prefix 208.128/11 would match hundreds of MCI's customers, including ARS, and direct traffic towards MCI's network. Why maintain hundreds of table entries when a single one will do?

As we get closer to the destination, specifically as the traffic passes into MCI's network, more fine grained table entries appear, including one for 208.130.28/22 that directs traffic towards the fractional T-1 link connecting ARS with MCI.

Once the data passes onto ARS's network, a table entry matching the prefix 208.130.29/24 indicates a route to the public web servers' Ethernet, and an ARP resolution converts 208.130.29.33 into an Ethernet address for final delivery.