W4EWH de N2XU. The 172.x.x.x space I use sits within the reserved RFC-1918 172.16.0.0/12 space reserved for private networks. I use it for my home LAN just as I could use 10/8 or anywhere in 192.168/16 space. I use it because some folks are unaware of the allocation and are more likely to see it as you have which is intended to make them shy away from messing with it OR ask questions which I welcome because it's an opportunity to help folks learn something they might not know. Any time we learn more about networks and networking to advance what we know is a good thing. 74 de N2XU Tom Cardinal/MSgt USAF (Ret)/BSCS/Security+ ce -- 73 de N2XU/Tom Cardinal/MSgt USAF (Ret)/BSCS/Security+/IPv6 Certified