What is a subnet mask?

The subnet mask, or "Subnet Mask", is a 32-bit binary number used to divide the network part and the host part of the IP address. It performs a logical "AND" operation with the IP address to determine the network identification of the IP address. part and the host identification part, consisting of consecutive 1 and 0, where 1 represents the network identification part and 0 represents the host identification part.

The subnet mask is a 32-bit binary number used to divide the network part and the host part of the IP address. It is logically ANDed with the IP address to determine the network identification portion and the host identification portion of the IP address.

The subnet mask consists of consecutive 1s and 0s, where 1 represents the network identification part and 0 represents the host identification part. The number of ones and zeros in a subnet mask depends on the size and needs of the network.

For example, for an IP address of 192.168.1.10 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, the result obtained after performing a logical AND operation is 192.168.1.0, where 192.168.1 is the network identifier. part, 10 is the host identification part.

The role of the subnet mask is to help distinguish hosts and subnets in the network. It is used to determine whether two IP addresses are on the same LAN and to determine the network to which the destination address of the packet is to be sent.

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