Understanding Subnetting: A Practical Guide

Hey everyone,

I'm starting this topic to delve into subnetting. It's a fundamental concept for network administrators, but can be confusing for beginners. I want to break down what it is, why it's important, and how to practically implement it. Let's cover:

• What is subnetting and why do we use it?
• CIDR notation explained
• Calculating network addresses, broadcast addresses, and usable host IPs
• Common subnetting scenarios and examples
• Tools and tips for subnetting

Feel free to ask questions, share your experiences, or provide additional insights. Let's make this a comprehensive resource!

Looking forward to your contributions!

Thanks for starting this, Alex! Subnetting is definitely a hurdle. My main confusion is with the bitwise operations required to calculate the subnet mask. Could you elaborate on that?

Great topic! I’ve found that using an online subnet calculator is a lifesaver when first learning. But it’s crucial to understand the manual process for interviews and troubleshooting. Alex, maybe you could show an example of calculating for a /24 network and then extending it to a /26?