Subnetting and subnet masks in Computer Networks - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Subnetting and Subnet Masks

📖 Scenario: You are working as a network technician setting up a small office network. You need to divide a single IP network into smaller subnetworks to organize different departments.

🎯 Goal: Build a simple subnetting plan by creating the original network, defining the subnet mask, calculating subnet addresses, and identifying the broadcast address for each subnet.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a variable for the original IP network address

Create a variable for the subnet mask

Calculate subnet addresses using the subnet mask

Identify the broadcast address for each subnet

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Subnetting helps organize and secure networks by dividing large networks into smaller, manageable parts.

💼 Career

Network administrators and IT professionals use subnetting to design efficient and secure networks.

1

Define the Original Network Address

Create a variable called network_address and set it to the string "192.168.1.0" representing the original IP network address.

Computer Networks

# Create the original network address
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The network address is the starting point for subnetting. Use a string to store it.

2

Set the Subnet Mask

Create a variable called subnet_mask and set it to the string "255.255.255.192" which will divide the network into four subnets.

Computer Networks

network_address = "192.168.1.0"
# Define the subnet mask
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The subnet mask determines how many subnets you create. Use the correct mask for four subnets.

3

Calculate Subnet Addresses

Create a list called subnets containing the four subnet addresses as strings: "192.168.1.0", "192.168.1.64", "192.168.1.128", and "192.168.1.192".

Computer Networks

network_address = "192.168.1.0"
subnet_mask = "255.255.255.192"
# List the subnet addresses
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Each subnet starts at a multiple of 64 in the last part of the IP address.

4

Identify Broadcast Addresses

Create a list called broadcast_addresses containing the broadcast addresses for each subnet as strings: "192.168.1.63", "192.168.1.127", "192.168.1.191", and "192.168.1.255".

Computer Networks

network_address = "192.168.1.0"
subnet_mask = "255.255.255.192"
subnets = ["192.168.1.0", "192.168.1.64", "192.168.1.128", "192.168.1.192"]
# List the broadcast addresses
# Your code here

Need a hint?

The broadcast address is the last IP in each subnet range.