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Reference Manual for the Model RP614 v2 Web Safe Router
Networks, Routing, and Firewall Basics B-5
As a shorter alternative to dotted-decimal notation, the netmask may also be expressed in terms of
the number of ones from the left. This number is appended to the IP address, following a backward
slash ( / ), as “/n.” In the example, the address could be written as 192.168.170.237/24, indicating
that the netmask is 24 ones followed by 8 zeros.
Subnet Addressing
By looking at the addressing structures, you can see that even with a Class C address, there are a
large number of hosts per network. Such a structure is an inefficient use of addresses if each end of
a routed link requires a different network number. It is unlikely that the smaller office LANs would
have that many devices. You can resolve this problem by using a technique known as subnet
addressing.
Subnet addressing allows us to split one IP network address into smaller multiple physical
networks known as subnetworks. Some of the node numbers are used as a subnet number instead.
A Class B address gives us 16 bits of node numbers translating to 64,000 nodes. Most
organizations do not use 64,000 nodes, so there are free bits that can be reassigned. Subnet
addressing makes use of those bits that are free, as shown below.
Figure 6-2: Example of Subnetting a Class B Address
A Class B address can be effectively translated into multiple Class C addresses. For example, the
IP address of 172.16.0.0 is assigned, but node addresses are limited to 255 maximum, allowing
eight extra bits to use as a subnet address. The IP address of 172.16.97.235 would be interpreted as
IP network address 172.16, subnet number 97, and node number 235. In addition to extending
the number of addresses available, subnet addressing provides other benefits. Subnet addressing
allows a network manager to construct an address scheme for the network by using different
subnets for other geographical locations in the network or for other departments in the
organization.
7262
C
lass B
Network Subnet Node