Subnetting – Calculate Subnet Masks & More

In my last article, IP Addressing and Routing Part 1: The Invasion of IP Addresses, I presented the architecture of the IP addressing scheme. We went over the IP Network Classes and how to distinguish between them.

If you’re new to this field, I would suggest adding both Part 1 and Part 2: IP Routing Process to your reading list, since it provides some additional information that can be useful in getting a firm grasp of the subnetting concept.

In today’s article we are going to learn about the concept of IP address subnets and how we can use it to divide our classful network into smaller networks that can operate in separate working zones. We’ll also take a look at how we can conserve address space and save resources on process management with the use of subnetting.

I’ll use a few examples to clearly present the steps of subnetting and help you master this topic. And although at first this may seem difficult, don’t give up! All it takes is some time and practice!