IP addresses and Subnetting Page 1 of 15

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IP addresses and Subnetting

IP addresses & subnetting - an overview
IP addresses
What is an IP address?
Classes of IP addresses
Globally routable and private network IP addresses
Subnetting
What is subnetting?
How does subnetting work?
Subnet masks
Calculating a network number using a subnet mask
Calculating a broadcast address using a subnet mask
Prefix length notation (CIDR notation)
Calculating a subnet mask
Defining subnet numbers
The fast track to the advantages of subnetting
List of subnet masks

Test your knowledge

IP addresses & subnetting - an overview

The following gives an introduction to IP addresses and subnetting on local

area networks. If you want to find out about the advantages of using
private network IP addresses on you local area network, or what subnetting
can do for you, the explanation is here. You can also find the recipe for how
you calculate a subnet mask, a network address and broadcast address.

However, the course also offers a fast track to getting the advantages of
subnetting on local area networks without having to do all the calculations
yourself. If this is what you are looking for, you might want to jump directly
to the last chapter in this course: ‘The fast track to the advantages of
subnetting’.

IP addresses

Each computer on a TCP/IP based network (including the Internet) has a

unique, numeric address called an IP address (IP stands for Internet
Protocol), enabling data packages to be addressed to this specific recipient.

What is an IP address?

An IP address consists of four so-called octets separated by dots. The octet

is a binary number of eight digits, which equals the decimal numbers from 0
to 255. To make IP addresses more easy to read and write, they are often

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expressed as four decimal numbers, each separated by a dot. This format is

called "dotted-decimal notation".

An IP address in its binary and dotted-decimal notation

In a local area network based on TCP/IP, an IP address must be assigned to

each host (computer or device) in the network. The IP address must be
unique to each host. (If two hosts were given the same address, the data to
these hosts would be picked up randomly by one of them – be it the
intended receiver or not – causing network irregularities.)

In addition, a device that serves as router to another network, contains two

or more network adaptors and belongs to two or more networks. In this
case, each adaptor must be assigned a unique IP address on each network.

Part of an IP address designates the network, while another part designates

the individual host. The network number field is also referred to as the
‘network prefix’.

The two parts of an IP address

Exactly where the network part ends and the host part begins is calculated
by routers, using a so-called subnet mask as a deciphering key.

All hosts on a given network share the same network number, but each of
them must have a unique host number:

The host portion of the IP address is unique to each host

The network portion of an IP address is inherited down through a network

hierarchy, as illustrated below.

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Each cloud symbolizes a network segment

Classes of IP addresses

In order to provide the flexibility required to support differently sized

networks, IP addresses come in three classes, A, B, and C. Every class fixes
the boundary between the network portion and the host portion of the IP
address at a different point. This makes them appropriate for different size
networks.

Class C addresses allow 254 hosts per network and are typically used by
smaller and middle-sized companies. Class B networks allow a maximum of
16,384 hosts, while Class A networks allow more than 16 million hosts. As a
consequence, Class A networks are only used by really large organisations.

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Calculating the number of possible hosts requires a closer look at the IP

classes in their binary form. (The binary system is a base-2 number system,
just like the base-10 number system is known as the decimal number
system). It is done as follows:

z In a Class C network only the last octet is used to designate the

hosts. The maximum decimal number that you can write using eight
bits is 256 (28). The host calculation now requires that 2 is
subtracted, because two host addresses must be reserved for a
network address and a broadcast address (for a further explanation
of network and broadcast addresses, see the section on ‘Subnets’).
Ergo the maximum number of hosts on a Class C network is 256-
2=254.
z A class B network allows a maximum of 16,384 hosts (216-2) per
network (two octets designate the hosts).
z A class A network allows up to 16,777,214 (224-2) hosts per network
(three octets are used to designate the hosts).

The table below shows the range of dotted-decimal values that can be
assigned to each of the three address classes. An x represents the host
number field of the address which is assigned by the network administrator.

Class A networks are also referred to as ‘/8’s (pronounced slash eight’s or

just eight’s) since they have an 8-bit network prefix (one octet is used to
designate the network). Following the same convention, Class B networks
are called ‘/16s’ and Class C networks ‘/24s’.

Globally routable and private network IP addresses

There are two types of IP addresses – those which are globally routable
(included in the routing tables on the Internet), and those which have been
set aside for private networks. It is generally recommended that
organisations use IP addresses from the blocks of private network
addresses for hosts that require IP connectivity within their company
network, but do not require external connections to the global Internet.

The system with non-routable IP addresses was introduced to help prevent

a future shortage of IP addresses due to the explosive growth of the
Internet. Because addresses belonging to these address blocks are not
routed through the Internet routing system, the same numbers can be used
at the same time by many different organisations.

The three blocks of IP addresses which have been reserved for private
networks are:

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There are no official rules for when to use which of the three private
network IP address blocks, but generally the one of the most suitable size is
used. For obvious reasons there is no need to use 10.x.x.x if it is
unthinkable that your LAN will ever grow to more than 254 hosts. However,
when using private addresses the network administrator can be liberal on
the usage of the addresses when assigning them to the different parts of a
network, as the strict rules that govern public IP address assignment do not
apply.

Hosts with private network IP addresses cannot communicate directly with

the Internet, because the Internet refuses to receive and transmit data with
such origin or destination address. For a host with a private network IP
address to be allowed to communicate with the Internet, it must have its
data stream to the Internet handled by an intermediary host, which can act
as an ‘Internet representative’ for the private host. The intermediary host
must have ways to relay data between the global Internet and the host on
the private network. Therefore it must have a globally routable IP address
that it uses when communicating with the Internet, and a private network
IP address that is uses for communication with the private host. There are a
number of different types of intermediary hosts that fit this description. The
most common types of intermediary hosts are proxy servers, firewalls and
firewalls with NAT (Network Address Translation).

A NAT router translating private network IP addresses to globally routable

IP addresses

An advantage of using private network addresses is that it makes it easier

for organisations to change their Internet service provider without having to
renumber their IP addresses. If private network addresses are not used,
renumbering when changing ISP is necessary because globally routable IP
addresses are "owned" by the Internet service provider that the company
has "leased" the IP addresses from. It is possible to buy and own IP
addresses, but this only applies to very large organisations that need in the
magnitude of 40,000 globally routable IP addresses.

Using private network IP addresses also gives a company a measure of

security. Globally routable IP addresses are advertised in the routing tables
on the Internet, making the system vulnerable to hackers. When private IP
network addresses are used, however, the intermediary host (such as a
firewall with NAT) will work as a barrier against unwanted visits from the
Internet.

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The current version of IP, IP version 4, defines a 32-bit address, which

means that there are only 232 (4,294,967,296) addresses available globally.
Over the past few years, the number of available IP addresses on the
Internet has started to run out, as the number of companies and people
wishing to go on-line has exploded. As a consequence, a new generation of
IP addresses (IPv6) is currently in the works. The current IP system will not
become obsolete overnight, however, as the two systems will coexist for
some time after the new version has been implemented.

Subnetting

What is subnetting?

A subnet is a segment of a network. Subnetting is a technique that allows a

network administrator to divide one physical network into smaller logical
networks and, thus, control the flow of traffic for security or efficiency
reasons.

Dividing a network into several subnets can serve a number of purposes: to

reduce network traffic by decreasing the number of broadcasts (if used in
combination with a switch), to exceed the limitations in a local area
network, for instance the maximum number of allowed hosts, or to enable
employees to be able to dial in to the network from home, without opening
the entire network up to unwanted visits from the Internet.

Subnets are created by using a so-called subnet mask to divide a single

Class A, B, or C network number into smaller pieces, thus allowing an
organisation to add subnets without having to obtain a new network number
through an Internet service provider. Subnets can again be subnetted into
sub-subnets.

Subnets were originally invented to help solve the lack of IP addresses on

the Internet.

Please note: There is a fast track to getting the advantages of subnetting on

local area networks without having to go through the process of calculating
a subnet mask, etc. The recipe can be found in the last chapter: ‘The fast
track to the advantages of subnetting’.

How does subnetting work?

An IP address consists of a network portion and a host portion. A subnet is

created by borrowing bits from the part of the IP address which normally
designates the host and using them to designate one or more smaller,
secondary networks (subnets) within the original network. The network
prefix and subnet number in combination are called the extended network
prefix (in every day talk often, somewhat confusingly, referred to as the
network number!).

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Subnet masks

A 32-bit subnet mask is used as a deciphering key to determine how an IP

address is to be divided into extended network prefix and host part. It is
used by routers and network devices to determine where traffic should be
routed to.

Like IP addresses, subnet masks consist of four numbers of 8 bits,

separated by dots. They are usually written in the corresponding decimal
notation.

The typical subnet masks used for Class A, B and C addresses are as
follows:

All the 0’s in the subnet mask specify that this part in a corresponding IP
address is the host portion, while the 1’s indicate that the corresponding
bits in the IP address constitute the network portion.

The three subnet masks above set the change from network to host portion
at the end of a whole octet – Class A after one octet, Class B after two
octets, and Class C after three. However, a subnet masks does not have to
follow the address classes, but can specifiy a host portion that is not a
whole octet.

The subnet mask 255.255.255.240

(11111111.11111111.11111111.11110000) for instance, marks the
breaking point four bits into the last octet.

The purpose of having subnet masks defining networks is that the technical
devices that the network is build from will be able to determine if traffic
should be routed out of the network or kept within it. Using a mask saves
the routers from having to handle the entire 32-bit address, because they
can simply look at the bits selected by the mask (and thus not worry about

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the host portion of the address).

Internet routers use only the network number of the destination address to
route traffic to a subnetted environment. Subnetting, thus, also has the
advantage that it keeps the size of the routing tables on the Internet down
because Internet routers only need to know the one common network
address for all the individual computers and devices on the different
subnets. The route from the Internet to any subnet of a network is the
same, no matter which subnet the destination host is on, namely that of the
mother network. From there, the local network router(s) divides the
communication out into individual subnets and to the individual hosts on
these subnets.

Subnetting keeps the size of the routing tables on the Internet down, as the
Internet routers only use the network number of a subnetted environment
to route traffic to any of the subnets

A router within a subnetted environment uses the extended network prefix

to route traffic between the individual subnets. The extended network prefix
is composed of the network prefix and the subnet number.

Calculating a network number using a subnet mask

The network number is the part of the IP address that all hosts on a
network share. Network numbers are entered in routing tables and used by
routers to direct traffic between networks. The network number, or
extended network prefix, of an IP address is found by using the subnet
mask to mask off the host portion of the IP address.

An example:
You choose the IP address 192.168.1.1 and the subnet mask
255.255.255.0. The above IP address and subnet mask written in their
binary notation looks as follows:

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Every bit in the IP address is compared to the corresponding bit in the

subnet mask: a ‘1’ in the subnet mask indicates that the corresponding bit in
the IP address is part of the network portion, while a ‘0’ in the subnet mask
illustrates that the corresponding bit in the IP address is part of the host
portion.

In the above example, the host portion is thus all the bits in the first three
octets, which in decimal numbers is written 192.168.1.0.

Subnet masks written in binary notation always consist of a continuous

string of 1’s followed by a continuous string of 0’s, e.g.

As a consequence, the host range that a subnet mask defines will always be
either 2 (21 – corresponding to a situation where only the last bit defines
hosts), 4(22 – corresponding to a situation where the last two bits define
hosts), 8 (23), 16(24), 32(25), 64(26), 128(27) or 256(28).

In reality, 2 must be subtracted from all the numbers of hosts above to get
the actual number of IP addresses available to use for hosts, because two
addresses, namely the address which has all-0’s in the host bits (this
network) and the address which has all 1’s in the host bits (broadcast), can
not be assigned to hosts. As a consequence, it is not possible to make a
network that consists of fewer than four IP addresses (2 hosts + the
broadcast and network addresses).

In the above example, based on the IP address 192.168.1.1 and the subnet
mask 255.255.255.0, the network address (all host bits set to 0) was
192.168.1.0. The broadcast address for this network would be
192.168.1.255 as illustrated below.

Calculating a broadcast address using a subnet mask

The broadcast address is the address where all the bits in the host portion
are set to 1. The broadcast address is used when you want to communicate
data to all the hosts on a network. Here follows an example of how it can be
calculated:

In our example above, the last 8 bits were hosts. As a consequence, the
broadcast address for the network 192.168.1.0 with the subnet mask
255.255.255.0 is 11000000.10101000.00000001.111111111 (host bits set
to 1) or in decimal notation: 192.168.1.255

Note: If you know the IP address segment your network consists off, the
lowest IP address is the network number, while the highest IP address is the
broadcast address.

Prefix length notation (CIDR notation)

For the sake of convenience, prefix length notations (CIDR notation,

Classless Inter-Domain Routing notation) is often used instead of writing the
subnet mask. This means that the IP address above (192.168.1.1) with the
subnet mask 255.255.255.0 can also be expressed as 192.168.1.1/24.
The /24 indicates the network prefix length, which is equal to the number of

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continuous one-bits in the subnet mask.

Calculating a subnet mask

When subnetting a network, you first need to determine two things:

z how many subnets do you need to create?

z how many host addresses do you need on each net (you should
always add some extra host addresses to be used for future growth).

Once you have determined the required number of subnets and hosts, the
next step is to calculate a corresponding subnet mask, which will support
the desired network structure.

In the following you will find two examples of how the subnetting of a Class
C network can be planned and the required subnet mask calculated.

Example A:
Imagine that you are setting up a network on the network number
192.168.1.0/24. You need a local area network which is going to connect a
number of workstations, servers and others devices, totalling more than 80.
To allow some slack, you set the number of required hosts to be 90. Now,
the calculation of the subnet mask can begin. The calculation is best
understood if the numbers are looked at in their binary form (see example
below).

The first step is to determine the lowest number of bits required to identify
90 hosts. Since IP addresses of hosts can only be created along binary
boundaries, the number of hosts must be created in blocks of powers of two
– 2 (21), 4 (22), 8 (23), 16 (24) and so on. In other words, we must first
determine what the lowest power is that we can lift 2 to and get a number
equal to or greater than 90. Since 27 equals 128 and 26 equals 64, we need
7 bits to designate 90 hosts. This means that the host portion of the IP
address must be the last 7 bits. An IP address consists of 32 bits all in all.
The network portion must thus consist of 32-7=25 bits. As every ‘1’ in a
subnet mask indicates that the corresponding bit in the IP address belongs
to the network portion and every ‘0’ indicates that the corresponding bit in
the IP address is part of the host portion, the corresponding subnet mask
must consist of a series of 25 1’s, followed by 7 0’s (as illustrated below).
Written in decimal notation, the subnet mask is 255.255.255.128.

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The number of subnets that can be created using this subnet mask is
calculated as follows: The original network prefix was 24 bit long
(192.168.1.0/24), and the extended network prefix (network prefix +
subnet prefix) masked off by the subnet mask is 25 bits long. As a
consequence, one bit is available to designate subnets. In other words, it is
possible to create 2 (21) subnets of this given size using this subnet mask,
should we wish to do so.

Example B:
Now pretend that through an estimation of the number of subnets and hosts
that the subnet you are setting up will have to support, you have come to
the conclusion that you need to define ten subnets. The largest subnet is
required to support 10 hosts. You have again chosen to create the subnet
on the network number 192.168.1.0/24. Now, the calculation of the subnet
mask can begin.

The first step is to determine the number of bits required to define the ten
subnets. Since a network address can be subnetted only along binary
boundaries, subnets must be created in blocks of powers of two 2 – 2, 4, 8,
16 and so on. Thus, it is impossible to define an IP address block so that it
contains exactly ten subnets. In this case, the network administrator must
define a block of 16 (24) and have six unused subnet addresses for future
growth.

Since we need to raise 2 to the power of four (24) to get 16, four bits are
required to designate the sixteen subnets in the block. In this example, you
are subnetting a Class C network (/24) so it will need four more bits (/28)
as the extended network prefix. A 28-bit extended network prefix can be
expressed in dotted-decimal notation as 255.255.255.240. This is illustrated
below:

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A 28-bit extended network prefix leaves 4 bits to define host addresses on

each subnet. This means that each subnet with a 28-bit prefix represents a
continuous block of 24 (16) individual IP addresses. However, since the all-
0’s (‘this network’) and the all-1’s host addresses (‘broadcast’) must not be
allocated, there are 14 (24-2) assignable host addresses on each subnet.
We needed a maximum of 10 hosts on each subnet, so the result is
satisfactory.

Defining subnet numbers

In example B above, with the ten subnets, the subnets will be numbered 0
through to 9. The 4-bit binary representation of the decimal values 0 though
9 are: 0 (0000), 1 (0001), 2 (0010), 3 (0011), 4 (0100), 5 (0101), 6
(0110), 7 (0111), 8 (1000), 9 (1001), 10 (1010).

To find the subnet number of each subnet, place the binary representation
of the subnet number, e.g. 0001, into the bits in the base network address
that is used to designate the subnet (see illustration below). For example,
to define subnet number 8, the network administrator places the binary
representation of 8 (1000) into the 4-bits in the base network address that
are used to designate the subnet.

The ten subnet numbers for the example are given below. The italicised
portion of each address identifies the extended network prefix, while the
bold digits identify the 4 bits representing the bits in the address that are
used to designate the subnet:

An easy way to ensure that the subnets are calculated correctly is to ensure
that they are all multiples of the subnet number 1 address. In this case, all
subnets are multiples of 16.

The fast track to the advantages of subnetting

There is a fast track to getting the advantages of subnetting on local area

networks without having to go through the process of calculating a subnet
mask, etc. The fast track involves using a standard class subnet mask in
combination with addresses from the IP address blocks set aside for private
networks. For instance by using 192.168.0.0 to designate your local
network 1, 192.168.1.0 to designate your local area network 2 and
192.168.2.0 to designate your local area network 3. The standard subnet

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mask to use on networks with up to 254 hosts is 255.255.255.0.

The three blocks of IP addresses which have been reserved for private
networks and the corresponding standard subnet masks are:

If you do not want to use this method, a list of precalculated subnet masks
together with the number of hosts available on the networks they create
can be found below for easy reference.

List of subnet masks

The list below can be used as a fast track when subnetting. It describes the
relationship between the number of host IP addresses required and the
corresponding subnet mask. The example above, for instance, required
subnets with 10 host addresses on each. The nearest number that is equal
to or greater than 10 is 16. The subnet mask corresponding to 16 hosts is
listed in the table below. It is 255.255.255.240.

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Test your knowledge

1.
What is a network number? The part of an IP address that all
hosts on a network share
The part of an IP address which
networks share
The part of an IP address which
no hosts on a network share
2.
What is a host number? The part of an IP address which
all hosts on a network share
The part of an IP address which
networks share
The part of an IP address which
no hosts on a network share
3.
How many hosts can you set up on a 254
Class C network (without
subnetting)? 256

16,384
4.
A '/8' is also referred to as? A class A network

A class B network

A class C network
5.
What is a private network IP The IP address of a secret server
address? on the Internet
An IP address which is included in
the routing tables on the Internet
An IP address which is NOT
included in the routing tables on
the Internet
6.
You are setting up a LAN with 20 10.0.0.0-10.255.255.255
hosts. Which of the following private
network IP address blocks does it 172.16.0.0-172.31.255.255
make the most sense to choose your
IP addresses from? 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255

7.
What is subnetting? The division of a physical network
into two or more physical
networks
The division of a logical network
into two or more physical
networks
The division of a physical network
into one or more logical networks
8.

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How does subnetting work? Bits from the network portion of

the IP address are borrowed to
designate the subnetwork
Bits from the host portion of the
IP address are borrowed to
designate the subnetwork
An additional cable is attached to
the servers LAN port
9.
What is a subnetmask? A deciphering key used to
determine which part of an IP
address constitutes the Host and
Network portions respectively
The network number of a subnet
The network of a number before
it is subnettet
10.
What does the 0's in a subnet mask They indicate that this part in the
(written in its binary form) mean? corresponding IP address is the
network portion
They indicate that this part in the
corresponding IP address is the
host portion
They indicate that the network
has no subnets
Evaluate Reset

© 2001 Eicon Networks

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