VM600 networking manual MAVM600-NET/E 1 - 15
Edition 9 - February 2018
Some networking terms and definitions
VM600 NETWORKING INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
1.4.5.3 Subnets and subnet masks
A subnet (subnetwork) is a logically visible subdivision of an IP network. Subnets allow you
to subdivide a network into smaller, more manageable units. Benefits of subnetting include:
• Reduced network traffic by selecting the path any information is sent along.
• Optimised network performance.
• Simplified management.
• Facilitates spanning of large geographical distances.
To use a subnet, you must provide a subnet mask (or netmask), which determines the size
of a subnet and the end points on the subnet. The reason it's called a subnet mask is that it
literally masks out the host bits and leaves only the network address that begins the subnet.
Once you know the beginning of the subnet and how big it is, you can determine the end of
the subnet, which is the broadcast address.
Due to the network mask, the first subnet address is even and the last subnet address is odd.
These are special addresses with specific purposes and cannot be used for general node
addressing:
• The first subnet address is known as the network address. It is used to identify the
network, that is, it is the official designation for a particular subnet.
• The last subnet address is known as the broadcast address. It is used to address all
nodes in the network at the same time, that is, for broadcast addressing.
Default subnet masks (or natural masks) are:
• Class A: 255.0.0.0 (decimal)
11111111.00000000.00000000.00000000 (binary)
FF000000 (hexadecimal)
• Class B: 255.255.0.0
11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000
FFFF0000
• Class C: 255.255.255.0
11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000
FFFFFF00
For information on the default subnet masks used by a CPUM card, see 4.1 Default IP
address parameters.
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