Finding IP Subnet Mask: Suppose your company network has problems, and you need to troubleshoot it. In that case, you also need to know some basic information about the computers on the web.
In that case, IP or Internet Protocol is the underlying structure most networks use to facilitate communication between devices. Each device has its IP address, much like a house has a street address. Machines also contain a subnet mask. It helps define which part of the IP address belongs to the network and which part belongs to the device. The gateway, also called a default gateway, is the device that provides connectivity to other networks.
For example, suppose a device tries to communicate with a device that has an IP address on another network. In case the source device sends information to the gateway, which forwards the packets out of the local network and to the destination. For these important subnet masking, IP integration is highly needed.
This article explores IP addressing and subnetting and shows how to apply this valuable information to real-world scenarios. We handle how to calculate a subnet mask by using host and subnet formulas. Before we move on, though, we should answer two key questions.
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What is subnetting: Finding IP Subnet Mask
ISPs allocate IP address ranges to organizations based on the potential number of networks and hosts, or endpoints, that organizations require. Today, the allocations follow the Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) assignment method.
The organization then subdivides the allocated address space into smaller portions for each subnetwork within the organization, using subnetting. Each subnetwork is known as an IP subnet. The result of subnetting is that the number of subnetworks increases while the number of usable host IP addresses decreases.
Benefits of subnetting
Subnetting offers three expected benefits or advantages:
- Improved Network Performance: When a device seamlessly broadcasts a packet, it reaches all the particular network devices. This burdens the network further. Without gaining proper context, disclosed packets can also spam devices within the network. This can lead to degraded network performance.
- Enhanced and Improvised Network Security: If an attacker gains unauthorized and unethical access to a network, all your network devices may be compromised. You can limit a network breach with subnets by isolating the compromised subnetwork.
- Simplified Network Management: IPv4 host addresses are differentiated into Class A, Class B, and Class C.
a. Every Class A block contains 16,777,214 addresses.
b. Every Class B block contains 65,534 addresses.
c. Every Class C block contains 254 addresses.
If an organization requires more than 254 host addresses, a Class B allocation would be necessary. Without subnetting, this may waste vast amounts of network addresses.
In addition, subnetting grid monitoring and management by helping you logically group.
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How to find IP Subnet Mask?
Start With “Start”
Click the “Start” button and type “cmd” (without the quotes) in the Search box.
Open Command Prompt
Select the “cmd.exe” link in the Programs pane to open a command prompt window.
Use the IPCONFIG Command
Type “ipconfig” at the prompt and press “Enter.” This command displays all network interfaces and configurations, including IP addresses, subnet masks and default gateway. IPv4 (version 4) addresses are formatted in a “dotted-decimal octet” format like “192.168.0.3.” Subnet masks have the same design but are typically displayed as “255.255.255.0” on a local area network.
This mask means that the first three octets are the network address, and the last octet is the device address. The gateway address is the IP address of another device that provides connectivity to other networks.
Identify the relevant IP Information.
Then scroll through the output to find the interface you are looking for to determine the IP information.
Pro Tip
An individual can also use an IP address calculator or subnet calculator to get some of the relevant information.
If you cannot see an IP address on the default gateway line for an interface, no gateway information has been configured for it. The default gateway is a device that provides connectivity to external networks. In the following example, the network address is 153.157.100.0, and the actual device address is the .32 at the end. The subnet mask defines this.
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 153.157.100.32 # the address of the device Subnet Mask . . . . . . .. . . . : 255.255.255.0 # the subnet mask Default Gateway . . . .. . . . : 153.157.100.254 # the default gateway
You can use an IP address calculator or subnet calculator to get the desired information.
Master Tip
In case your device is configured for about IPv6. Then you will also see an IPv6 address formatted differently from IPv4, but the concept is the same.
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