Why is '192.168.xx' now used for private IP addresses?

An IP address is an identification number assigned to a computer or smartphone connected to a network. There are two types: a global IP address, which is unique in the world and can send and receive data from anywhere, and a private IP address, which is used within a local network. The IP address '192.168.xx' is often used for private IP addresses, but the reason for the use of '192.168.xx' is explained on the Q&A service Stack Exchange.

networking - Why did the IETF specifically choose 192.168/16 to be a private IP address class? - Super User

https://superuser.com/questions/784978/why-did-the-ietf-specifically-choose-192-168-16-to-be-a-private-ip-address-class

'192.168.xx' is a commonly used private IP address for connecting to various network devices such as routers, and many people have probably seen numbers like this when opening some kind of settings screen.

The Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) , a communications protocol including IP addresses, is discussed and promoted by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) , a standards organization. The IETF publishes a document describing the standard specifications, the Request for Comments (RFC) , which assigns the private IP address range from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255.

If you look at RFC 1597 , published in 1994, you will see that private IP address ranges are assigned to three ranges: 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255, 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255, and 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255.

When asked why '192.168.xx' was chosen as the standard for private IP addresses, one user replied that it had something to do with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a project group that once managed Internet resources such as IP addresses.

IANA was established in 1972, primarily by Professor Jon Postel of the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute, who led IANA's work until his death in 1998. RFC 1627 , which contains a rebuttal to RFC 1597, mentions that IANA assigned private IP address ranges. According to this, IANA, or rather Professor Postel, made the assignments without community review or approval.

Since Professor Postel has passed away, the exact reason why '192.168.0.0' to '192.168.255.255' was chosen as the private IP address range is unknown. However, the respondent speculated that it was because it was the smallest ' Class C ' IP address that could be assigned at the time, which was allocated for small networks with fewer than 254 devices. Judging from the rate of address allocation shown in the RFC, it seems likely that this rate was roughly the same around 1993-1994, when allocations were first made.

Additionally, Internet-history, a forum that discusses the history of the Internet, reports that a networking company was listing the IP address '192.168.xx' as an example in the manuals for its networking equipment before the IANA allocation was made.

[ih] What is the origin of the private network address 192.168.*.*?
https://lists.ding.net/othersite/isoc-internet-history/2009/oct/msg00000.html

As a result of many users following these instructions to set up their internal networks, a considerable number of private networks were already using '192.168.xx' before the IANA allocation, so when RFC 1597 was adopted, this IP address was assigned to the private IP address range.