What is a subnet?
A subnet is a logical subdivision of an IP network. Subnetting splits a network into smaller segments to improve performance, security, and address management.
What is CIDR notation?
CIDR (Classless Inter-Domain Routing) uses a slash followed by a prefix length (e.g. /24) to define a network, replacing the old Class A/B/C system.
Private IP ranges (RFC 1918)
10.0.0.0/8 · 172.16.0.0/12 · 192.168.0.0/16. These ranges are reserved for private networks and are not routable on the public internet.
Wildcard mask
The inverse of the subnet mask. Used in ACLs and OSPF to specify which bits of an IP address should be ignored during matching.