how to use subnet calculator

If you're looking to calculate the size of a subnet or determine whether an IP address falls into one subnet or another, you can use a reliable subnet calculator to help. A subnet calculator is a great tool for network administrators who need to quickly map out and assign IP addresses to clients' devices. Here's how to use a subnet calculator.

First, start by entering the network address in the appropriate field. This can be specified as either an IPv4 or IPv6 address and should include both the prefix and suffix. The prefix is the subset of numbers at the beginning of an IP address that specifies what type of network it belongs to (Class A, B, C, etc.), while the suffix contains the actual host identifier used to identify individual devices on a particular network. For example, 192.168.1.2 would have "192.168" as its prefix and "1.2" as its suffix. This tells us that this IP address belongs to a Class C network.

Next, enter in your desired subnet mask in bits or slash notation (e.g., /24). A subnet mask describes which portion of an IP address belongs to the network portion and which belongs to the host portion; it also determines how many nodes each subnetwork can contain within a given range of addresses—this is useful when you want to limit how many users or devices can connect at once in order for greater control over bandwidth usage or security applications.

Finally, press "calculate" or "compute." This will generate results such as:

- Subnet Address: The address range assigned by your input arguments

- Broadcast Address: The last assigned IP address that displays information on all other hosts in the specific network

- Number of Hosts/Nodes: How many hosts your subnetwork can contain within its specified range

- Wildcard Mask: A bit notation used for configuring routing tables that determines which destination networks are forwarded traffic from specific sources

- CIDR Notation: Displayed in slash notation for use with routing protocols such as OSPF (Open Shortest Path First)

You may also find additional information depending on what type of tool you're using—some may also display results such as number of available/usable hosts (depending on whether default broadcast & route addresses have been allocated) and hexadecimal representations of both wildcard & CIDR masks for more convenience when configuring source & destination networks on routers/switches—and these may be useful depending on what stage your project is in when utilizing a subnet calculator! Additionally, some tools allow you to input variations into their "friendly" interface so don't be afraid to experiment if your results aren't appearing correctly- generally they will let you know what isn't valid beforehand!