Which of the following describes a Class C network?

A Class C network is one that is specifically designed to accommodate a certain number of hosts within a network. It uses the first three octets (or the first 24 bits) of the IP address to represent the network portion and the last octet (the final 8 bits) to represent the host portion.

With this structure, a Class C network can support up to 256 individual IP addresses. However, 2 of these addresses are reserved—one for the network address (used to identify the network itself) and one for the broadcast address (used to send messages to all hosts within that network). This leaves a total of 254 usable addresses for hosts. Therefore, describing a Class C network as one that supports fewer than 256 hosts is accurate.

Other options present different characteristics that belong to other classes of networks or configurations. For instance, Class B networks can handle up to 65,536 hosts due to their broader range, while Class A networks utilize a default subnet mask of 255.0.0.0, which is not applicable to Class C. Additionally, while Class C networks can allow for a significant number of subnets, the statement regarding the capacity for more than 16,000 subnets pertains more appropriately