An nmap command that includes the host specification of 202.176.56-57.* will scan _______ number of hosts.

2 would only be correct if the wildcard '*' resolved to a single value, but '*' expands to all 256 possible values (0-255) for that octet.

256 would result if only one value were specified for the third octet with a wildcard fourth octet, but the range '56-57' contributes a factor of 2, doubling the count to 512.

In nmap's host specification syntax, '56-57' means the third octet takes exactly 2 values (56 and 57), while '*' is shorthand for the full range 0-255, giving 256 values for the fourth octet. Multiplying these two ranges together produces 2 x 256 = 512 unique IP addresses. This is standard nmap notation for specifying arbitrary IP ranges without using CIDR notation.

Over 10,000 hosts would require at least two fully wildcarded octets; only one octet is wildcarded here, capping the total at 512.