COMPTIA Security+ Tutorial: Module 01,Part 06 – Subnet Mask

Subnet Mask

An IP address contains two portions, one is the network portion and the host portion. Each of these IP addresses Class A, Class B and Class C include the subnet mask. The default subnet mask of these classes is as under:

Class A is denoted as 255.0.0.0

Class B is denoted as 255.255.0.0

Class C is denoted as 255.255.255.0

Tips to follow for subnetting:

The subnet mask is used to determine the type and the number of IP address to be allocated to a local network. Dividing a large network into smaller sub-networks offer the following benefits:

a. It reduces the network traffic by reducing the volume of the broadcasts.

b. Enable the users to access a work network from their homes without opening the complete network.

c. It helps to surpass the constraints in the Local Area Network (LAN).