How many IP addresses are present in a Class A range, such as 10.0.0.0/8?

In a Class A IP address range, such as 10.0.0.0/8, the notation "/8" signifies that the first 8 bits are used for the network portion and the remaining 24 bits are available for host addresses.

To calculate the total number of IP addresses in this range, we can use the formula for the total number of addresses, which is 2 raised to the power of the number of bits available for host addresses. Since a Class A network uses 24 bits for hosts (32 total bits - 8 network bits), the equation becomes:

2^24 = 16,777,216

This means there are a total of 16,777,216 possible IP addresses in a Class A range like 10.0.0.0/8, which supports a large number of hosts. Thus, the option indicating approximately 16.7 million is correct, as it simplifies the number to a more manageable figure. This large address space is why Class A networks are typically assigned to very large organizations or service providers.