The Ultimate CCNA Study Package - ICND 2

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933 http://www.thebryantadvantage.com Back To Index

Determining The Number Of Valid Subnets

Examples of a number of valid subnets question: How many valid subnets exist on the 10.0.0.0 /12 network? How many valid subnets exist on the 10.0.0.0 255.240.0.0 network? These two examples are actually asking the same thing, just in different formats. Youre familiar with the standard dotted decimal mask, but what about the number following the slash in the first version of the question? This is prefix notation, and its the more common way of expressing a subnet mask. The number behind the slash indicates how many consecutive ones there are at the beginning of this networks mask. The dotted decimal mask 255.240.0.0, converted to decimal, is 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000. (If youre unsure how this value is derived, review Section Three.) Note that there are twelve ones at the beginning of the mask. That is what the /12 refers to. Why use this method of expressing a mask? Its easier to write and to say. Try expressing a Class C default network mask as two fifty five, two fifty five, two fifty five, zero a couple of times, then try saying slash twenty-four. See what I mean? Youre going to hear the prefix notation version of network masks mentioned more often than someone reading out the entire mask, so familiarize yourself with expressing masks in this fashion. Youre also likely to see prefix notation on any Cisco exam you ever take. Now that prefix notation has been addressed, lets look at how to answer this kind of question. Before you can determine the number of valid subnets with a given network number and subnet mask, you must know the network masks for Class A, B, and C networks. They are listed here for review:
st

1 Octet Range Network Mask 255.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 255.255.255.0 Default # of Network Bits 8 16 24 Default # of Host Bits 24 16 8 The first key to answering this type of question is to remember that the number of network bits never changes. Subnetting always borrows bits from the host bits always. To determine the number of valid subnets, you first have to know how

Class A 1 - 126

Class B 128 - 191

Class C 192 223

many subnet bits there are. Lets look at the example question again: How many valid subnets exist on the 10.0.0.0 /12 network? How many subnet bits are there? By looking at the major network number, we see that this is a Class A network. By default, a Class A network has 8 network bits and 24 host bits. In this mask, though, 12 bits are set to 1. This indicates that four host bits have been borrowed by the subnet mask. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Class A 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 Network Mask: This Questions 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 Subnet Mask The highlighted bits are the subnet bits. By comparing the default network mask to the subnet mask expressed in the question, it is clear how many subnet bits there are. Now that you know how many subnet bits there are, place that number into this formula: The number of valid subnets = (2 raised to the power of the number of subnet bits) In the example question, determine the value of 2 to the 4th power, which is 16. Thats how many valid subnets you have in this network. Previously, Cisco theory held that you should subtract two from this number of valid subnets. These are the all-zeroes and all-ones subnets, and are now considered usable by Cisco. Under certain conditions that you'll probably only see on the exam, you may still have to subract the two.

According to Cisco, you should subtract the two only if: A classful protocol is in use - that narrows it down to RIPv1 for the CCNA 640-802, since IGRP is now off the exams.

The command configuration.

"no

ip

subnet-zero"

is

present

in

the

If you do not see any reference to a classful protocol and the command "no ip subnet-zero" is not in the configuration, you should not subtract the two. Lets go through another example:

How many valid subnets exist on the 150.10.0.0 /21 network?

This is a Class B network; the default subnet mask is 255.255.0.0, or /16 in prefix notation. The /21 mask has 21 bits set to 1, so there are five subnet bits. 2 to the 5th power equals 32. Its just that simple!

Number Of Valid Subnets Questions

How many valid subnets exist on the 15.0.0.0 /13 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of /8. The subnet mask is /13, meaning there are five subnet bits. 2 to the 5th power (2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2) equals 32. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111000 00000000 00000000 255.254.0.0 (/13) How many valid subnets exist on the 222.10.1.0 /30 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of /24. The subnet mask is /30, meaning there are six subnet bits. 2 to the 6th power is 64. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111100 255.255.255.252 How many valid subnets exist on the 145.45.0.0 /25 network? This is a Class B network, with a default mask of /16. The subnet mask is /25, meaning there are nine subnet bits. 2 to the 9th power is 512. Default Network Mask 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 11111111 11111111 00000000 4th Octet 00000000

255.255.0.0 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.128

11111111 11111111 11111111

10000000

How many valid subnets exist on the 20.0.0.0 255.192.0.0 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of 255.0.0.0. When comparing masks expressed in dotted decimal, it may be helpful to you to convert them to binary to determine the number of subnet bits. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11000000 00000000 00000000 255.192.0.0 The bits that are set to 0 in the default mask but are set to 1 in the subnet mask are the subnet bits. There are two subnet bits. 2 to the 2nd power is 4! How many valid subnets exist on the 130.30.0.0 255.255.224.0 network? This is a Class B network, with a default mask of 255.255.0.0. When comparing masks expressed in dotted decimal, it may be helpful to convert them to binary to determine the number of subnet bits. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 255.255.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11100000 00000000 255.255.224.0 The bits that are set to 0 in the default mask but are set to 1 in the subnet mask are the subnet bits; there are three of them. 2 to the 3rd power is 8. How many valid subnets exist on the 128.10.0.0 /19 network? This is a Class B network with a default mask of /16. The subnet mask is /19, indicating there are three subnet bits. 2 to the 3rd power is 8. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 255.255.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11100000 00000000

255.255.224.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 25.0.0.0 /20 network? This is a Class A network with a default mask of /8. The subnet mask is /20, indicating there are 12 subnet bits. 2 to the 12th power is 4096. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11110000 11111100 255.255.240.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 99.0.0.0 /17 network? This is a Class A network with a default mask of /8. The subnet mask is /17, indicating there are 9 subnet bits. 2 to the 9th power is 512. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 10000000 00000000 255.255.128.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 222.10.8.0 /28 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of /24. The subnet mask is /28, indicating 4 subnet bits. 2 to the 4th power is 16. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11110000 255.255.255.240 How many valid subnets exist on the 20.0.0.0 255.254.0.0 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of 255.0.0.0. To compare the default and subnet masks, convert them to binary:

1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111110 00000000 00000000 255.254.0.0 The bits where the default mask has a 0 and the subnet mask has a 1 are the subnet bits; there are 7 of them. 2 to the 7th power is 128. How many valid subnets exist on the 210.17.90.0 /29 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of /24. The subnet mask is /29, indicating there are 5 subnet bits. 2 to the 5th power is 32. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111000 255.255.255.248 How many valid subnets exist on the 130.45.0.0 /26 network? This is a Class B network, with a default mask of /16. The subnet mask is /26, indicating there are 10 subnet bits. 2 to the 10th power is 1024. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 255.255.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11000000 255.255.255.192 How many valid subnets exist on the 200.1.1.0 /26 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of /24. The subnet mask is /26, indicating there are 2 subnet bits. 2 to the 2nd power is 4. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11000000 255.255.255.192

 How many valid subnets exist on the 45.0.0.0 255.240.0.0 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of 255.0.0.0. To compare the default and subnet masks, convert them to binary. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 255.240.0.0 The bits where the default mask has a 0 and the subnet mask has a 1 are the subnet bits. There are four subnet bits. 2 to the 4th power is 16. How many valid subnets exist on the 222.33.44.0 255.255.255.248 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of 255.255.255.0. To compare the network and subnet masks, convert them to binary. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111000 255.255.255.248 The bits where the default mask has a 0 and the subnet mask has a 1 are the subnet bits. There are 5 subnet bits. 2 to the 5th power is 32. How many valid subnets exist on the 23.0.0.0 255.255.224.0 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of 255.0.0.0. To compare the network and subnet masks, convert them to binary. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11100000 00000000 255.255.224.0 The bits where the default mask has a 0 and the subnet mask has a 1 are the subnet bits. There are 11 subnet bits. 2 to the 11th power is 2048.

 How many valid subnets exist on the 111.11.0.0 /15 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of /8. The subnet mask is /15, indicating there are 7 subnet bits. 2 to the 7th power is 128. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111110 00000000 00000000 255.254.0.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 130.45.0.0 /19 network? This is a Class B network, with a default mask of /16. The subnet mask is /19, indicating there are 3 subnet bits. 2 to the 3rd power is 8. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 255.255.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11100000 00000000 255.255.224.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 99.0.0.0 /16 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of /8. The subnet mask is /16, indicating there are 8 subnet bits. 2 to the 8th power is 256. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 255.255.0.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 220.10.78.0 /24 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of /24. The supplied mask is /24 as well; this network has not been subnetted. How many valid subnets exist on the 34.0.0.0 /18 network? This is a Class A network, with a default mask of /8. The subnet mask is /18, indicating there are 10 subnet bits. 2 to the 10th power is 1024.

1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 00000000 00000000 00000000 255.0.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11000000 00000000 255.255.192.0 How many valid subnets exist on the 200.10.56.0 /29 network? This is a Class C network, with a default mask of /24. The subnet mask is /29, indicating there are 5 subnet bits. 2 to the 5th power is 32. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 00000000 255.255.255.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111000 255.255.255.248 How many valid subnets exist on the 128.10.0.0 /18 network? This is a Class B network, with a default mask of /16. The subnet mask is /18, indicating there are 2 subnet bits. 2 to the 2nd power is 4. 1st Octet 2nd Octet 3rd Octet 4th Octet Default Network Mask 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 255.255.0.0 Subnet Mask 11111111 11111111 11000000 00000000 255.255.192.0
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