Taking the time to come up with a great plan before implementing anything on your network is a great idea, but your IP address scheme is especially important. It's all too easy to accept defaults and get everyone up and running quickly. For some small companies, the default IP address layout that ships with your router (or whichever device handles DHCP by default) may suffice. But further down the road, it needs to change as companies grow. Being prepared for potential growth is critical. Implementing an IP address scheme is easy, but changing this scheme on a network that's already been rolled out is a great challenge. Always take the time to plan accordingly.

The first consideration for determining your IP address scheme is what types of machines you'll need to provide addresses to. Often, you'll have servers, workstations, and printers to deal with. But nowadays, we also have other devices on our network such as IP phones, company-issued phones, conference...