Subnet Mask

A subnet mask is a number that defines a range of IP addresses that can be used in a network. (It
is not something you wear on your head to keep subnets out.) Subnet masks are used to designate
subnetworks, or subnets, which are typically local networks LANs that are connected to the
Internet. Systems within the same subnet can communicate directly with each other, while
systems on different subnets must communicate through a router. Therefore, subnetworks can be
used to partition multiple networks and limit the traffic between them.

A subnet mask hides, or "masks," the network part of a system's IP address and leaves only the
host part as the machine identifier. A common subnet mask for a Class C IP address is
255.255.255.0. Each section of the subnet mask can contain a number from 0 to 256, just like an
IP address. Therefore, in the example above, the first three sections are full, meaning the IP
addresses of computers within the subnet mask must be identical in the first three sections. The
last section of each computer's IP address can be anything from 0 to 255. For example, the IP
addresses 10.0.1.201 and 10.0.1.202 would be in the same subnet, while 10.0.2.201 would not.
Therefore, a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 allows for close to 256 unique hosts within the
network (since not all 256 IP addresses can be used).

If your system is connected to a network, you can typically view the network's subnet mask
number in the Network control panel (Windows) or System Preference (Mac OS X). Most home
networks use the default subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. However, some office networks may use
a different subnet mask such as 255.255.255.128, which can be used to split a network into two
subnets. Large networks with several thousand machines may use a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0.
This is the default subnet mask used by Class B networks. The largest Class A networks use a
default subnet mask of 255.0.0.0.

subnet mask (subnetting)

A subnet mask is a 32- or 128-bit number that segments an existing IP address in a TCP/IP
network and divides that address into discrete network and host addresses. The process of
subnetting can further divide the host portion of an IP address into additional subnets to route
traffic within the larger subnet.

Definition

subnet mask (subnetting)

A subnet mask is a 32- or 128-bit number that segments an existing IP address in a TCP/IP
network and divides that address into discrete network and host addresses. The process of
subnetting can further divide the host portion of an IP address into additional subnets to route
traffic within the larger subnet.

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IP address binary bits that represent a network are represented by a 1 in the subnet mask, and bits
that represent a host appear as 0s. In a binary mask, for example, a "1" over a number says "look
at the number underneath;" a "0" says "don't look." Using a subnet mask saves the router from
having to handle the entire 32-bit address; it can simply look at the bits selected by the mask.

IPv4 and IPv6 subnetting

Subnetting is essential when a single IP address block has to be allocated over numerous
segments within the same local area network (LAN). Like IPv4 addresses, an IPv4 subnet mask
contains four bytes (32 bits) and is written using the same dotted-decimal quadrant notation. In
this method, the series of 8 binary 1s is translated to the decimal number 255. For example, a
common IPv4 address is 192.168.1.1 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. This example shows
that the first three segments of the four segment address belong to the network portion of the
address, while the last segment is designated for all hosts within that IPv4 subnet.

IPv6 addresses, on the other hand, use 128-bit binary addresses that often are viewed as eight-
segment hexadecimal notations that are separated by a colon. Unlike IPv4 addresses that separate
the IP address from subnet mask, IPv6 is a single address that is broken up into three portions
that includes the subnet within the address. The first segment of the three-segment IPv6 address
is the general routing prefix, which never changes on the LAN. This consumes the first 48 bits.
The next 16 bits -- 49 to 64 -- designate the subnet the IP address belongs to. And finally, the last
64 bits are designated for the host portion of the address. An example IPv6 address looks like
this:

2001:0db8:85a3:0000:FE01:8a2e:0370:7334.

In this case, the first three sections are the general prefix, the next section is the subnet and the
final four segments indicate the node portion of the address. Once a packet has arrived at an
organization's gateway or connection point with its unique network number, it can be routed to
its destination within the organization's internal gateways using its subnet number.

Subnet masks allow organizations to subdivide public IP address blocks without acquiring new
IP network numbers from an ISP. A subnet mask can increase the number IP addresses, and
improve network security and performance. A subnet mask can be used to choose how many
subnets to create or how many network nodes are needed on each subnet by setting all
subsequent network bits to "1" and host bits to "0". A subnet mask doesn't represent a specific
device or network on the internet; instead it indicates which portion of an IP address should be
used to determine the network ID.
Subnet mask chart

Common subnet masks

Fixed- and Variable-Length IPv4 Subnetting

Fixed-Length Subnet Masking (FLSM) and Variable-Length Subnet Masking (VLSM) are
methods to streamline how packets are routed within a subnet in a proprietary network. The
original concept of IPv4 subnets was that they were broken into fixed-length sizes -- known as
classes. This is also referred to as classful subnetting. Class A networks had a first octet between
1 and 127. These effectively used a 255.0.0.0 subnet mask. The class B first octet ranged
between 128 and 192, using a 255.255.0.0 mask. And C used the 192 to 223 space using the
255.255.255.0 mask. Class D and E networks are designated for multicast and experimental
purposes, respectively. While FLSM simplifies subnetting by creating subnets of all the same
length, this approach can yield subnets that are either too large or too small. VLSM was
developed to further subdivide a large subnet into smaller subnets that have variable numbers of
hosts, which can prevent wasting address space. VLSM is also referred to as Classless Inter-
Domain Routing (CIDR).

How to calcualte subnet masks

A subnet calculator can be used to help divide an IP network into subnets by calculating network
address, subnet mask, broadcast address and host IP address range. Subnets can be calculated by
hand, but subnet calculators are also readily available online.