Problem with a network address question in CCNA course

Acknowledged74

Having trouble with the problem below, well I think I've correctly worked out 1-3 but not sure how to go about 4. I would appreciate any advice.

You are configuring two PCs for your network. PC-A is given an IP address of 192.168.1.18, and PC-B is given an IP address of 192.168.1.33. Both PCs receive a subnet mask of 255.255.255.240.

1. What is the network address for PC-A? 192.168.1.16

2. What is the network address for PC-B? 192.168.1.32

3. Will these PCs be able to communicate directly with each other? Yes

4. What is the highest address that can be given to PC-B that allows it to be on the same network as PC-A?

bigmantenor

It seems to be asking for the last usable address in PC-A's network. Since you've already figured out that PC-A is in the 192.168.1.16/28 network, and we know that the broadcast address is the last usable address in a subnet (in this case, 192.168.1.31), then the highest address that can be given to PC-B that allows it to be on the same network as PC-A is 192.168.1.30.

Also, your answer to #3 is probably incorrect, since we are not told of any router or layer 3 switch in this situation. These two PCs will not be able to communicate directly unless a change is made to put them in the same subnet.