Does the router have to always take the first valid host addresses in a subnet

networking

I was wondering if the router will always take the first valid host addresses in a subnet?

All of the examples online and book seems to have the router take the first valid host addresses of a subnet.

An example is class C /26.

With subnets of .0,.64,.128
Where the router would have a default gateway of: .1,.65,.129

Thank you in advance.

Best Answer

The router/gateway does not need to be the first valid address in a subnet, no. But it has to use something and by convention its the first (or occasionally the last) available IP address in the range. After all, why make things more difficult than they have to be?

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