3201 Computer Networks 2014/2015

Handout: Subnetting Question

Subnetting Questions with Answers

Question1:
Given the following:
Network address: 192.168.10.0
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.224
1. How many subnets?
Ans: 6
2. How many hosts?
Ans: 30
3. What are the valid subnets?
Ans: 32, 64, 96, 128, 160, 192
4. Fill in the table below.

Question2:
Write the subnet, broadcast address and valid host range for the
following:
1. 172.16.10.5 255.255.255.128
Ans: Subnet is 172.16.10.0, broadcast is 172.16.10.127 and valid host range is
172.16.10.1 to 126. You need to ask yourself, Is the subnet bit in the fourth octet on
or off? If the host address has a value of less than 128 in the fourth octet, then the
subnet bit must be off. If the value of the fourth octet is higher than 128, then the
subnet bit must be on. In this case, the host address is 10.5 and the bit in the fourth
octet must be off. The subnet must be 172.16.10.0.

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Handout: Subnetting Question

2. 172.16.10.33 255.255.255.224
Ans: Subnet is 172.16.10.32, broadcast is 172.16.10.63 and valid host range is
172.16.10.33 to 10.62. 256-224=32. 32+32=64. The subnet is 10.32 and the next
subnet is 10.64, so the broadcast address must be 10.63.
3. 192.168.100.17, with 4 bits of subnetting
Ans: Subnet is 192.168.100.16, broadcast is 192.168.100.31 and valid host range is
192.168.100.17 to 30. 256-240=16. 16+16=32. The subnet is, then, 100.16 and the
broadcast is 100.31 because 32 is the next subnet.
4. 192.168.100.66, with 3 bits of subnetting
Ans: Subnet is 192.168.100.64, broadcast is 192.168.100.95 and valid host range is
192.168.100.65 to 94. 256-224=32. 32+32=64, plus 32=96. The subnet is 100.64 and
the broadcast is 100.95.

Question3:
You have been asked to create a subnet that supports 16 hosts. What subnet mask
should you use?
1. 255.255.255.252
2. 255.255.255.248
3. 255.255.255.240
4. 255.255.255.224
4 is correct. A will only support 2 hosts; B only 6 and C only 14. Watch out for the minus
2 in the host calculation! Answer C creates 16 hosts on the subnet, but we lose 2 -- one
for the NET ID and one for the Broadcast ID.

Question4:
What valid host range is the IP address 172.29.217.11/22 a part of?

3201 Computer Networks 2014/2015

Handout: Subnetting Question

Network= 172.29.216.0
Range= 172.29.216.1 to 172.29.219.254
Broadcast= 172.29.219.255
Next Network= 172.29.220.0

Question5:
What is the Network ID, Broadcast Address, First Usable IP, or Last Usable IP on the
subnetwork that the node 192.168.1.15/26 belongs to?
subnet mask is 255.255.255.192
Magic Number is 64
Network ID (First IP in the subnet): 192.168.1.0
Broadcast address (last IP in the subnet): 192.168.1.63
First Usable IP (the address after the network ID): 192.168.1.1
Last Usable IP (the address before the broadcast address): 192.168.1.62
networks are 192.168.1.0, 192.168.1.64, 192.168.1.128, and 192.168.1.192. so it belongs
to first network

Question6:
Enter the last valid host on the network that the host 172.30.118.230/23 is a part of:
subnet mask is 255.255.254.0.
Magic Number is 2
Network ID (First IP in the subnet): 172.30.118.0
Broadcast address (last IP in the subnet): 172.30.119.255
First Usable IP (the address after the network ID): 172.30.118.1
Last Usable IP (the address before the broadcast address): 172.30.119.254 this
is the answer

Question7:
How many subnets and hosts per subnet can you get from the network 192.168.1.0
255.255.255.224?
Subnet Bits = 2^3 = 8
Host Bits = 2^5-2 = 30
The answer is 8 subnets and 30 hosts per subnet.

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Handout: Subnetting Question

Question8:
Given an IP address & Subnet Mask,
192.168.1.58
255.255.255.240
Identify the original range of addresses that this IP address belongs to
255.255.255.240 = 11111111.11111111.11111111.11110000
- As before, the last possible network bit is the Magic Number 16
- Use this magic # to find the network ranges until passing the given IP address:
192.168.1.0
192.168.1.16
192.168.1.32
192.168.1.48
192.168.1.64 (passed given IP address 192.168.1.58)
- Now, fill in the end ranges to find the answer to the scenario:
192.168.1.0 192.168.1.15
192.168.1.16 192.168.1.31
192.168.1.32 192.168.1.47
192.168.1.48 192.168.1.63 (IP address 192.168.1.58 belongs to this range)

Question9:
XYZ Company would like to subnet its network so that there are five separate subnets.
They will need 25 computers in each subnet. Complete each ofthe following:
NOTE: If you create more than five subnets, list the extra ones too.

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Handout: Subnetting Question

Question10:
The Acme Company would like to subnet its network (195.5.5.0) so that there are 50
separate
subnets. They will need only 2 hosts in each subnet. Complete each ofthe following:
NOTE: Because there are so many subnets, you don't need to write them all out. If you
can fill in the information required below (the subnet mask, the addresses for the first few
subnets, and the total number ofsubnets created), you obviously get the idea.

How many subnets are actually created with this subnet mask you used? __

3201 Computer Networks 2014/2015

Handout: Subnetting Question

How many subnets are actually created with this subnet mask you used? 64

Question11:
Your router has the following IP address on Ethernet0: 172.16.2.1/23. Which of the
following can be valid host IDs on the LAN interface attached to the router?
1. 172.16.1.100
2. 172.16.1.198
3. 172.16.2.255
4. 172.16.3.0
Answer: 3 & 4
Explanation:
The router's IP address on the E0 interface is 172.16.2.1/23, which is 255.255.254.0.
This makes the third octet a block size of 2. The router's interface is in the 2.0 subnet,
and the broadcast address is 3.255 because the next subnet is 4.0. The valid host range
is 2.1 through 3.254. The router is using the first valid host address in the range.

Question12:
Which two statements describe the IP address 10.16.3.65/23?
1. The subnet address is 10.16.3.0 255.255.254.0.
2. The lowest host address in the subnet is 10.16.2.1 255.255.254.0.
3. The last valid host address in the subnet is 10.16.2.254 255.255.254.0.
4. The broadcast address of the subnet is 10.16.3.255 255.255.254.0.
Answer: 2 & 4
Explanation:
The mask 255.255.254.0 (/23) used with a Class A address means that there are 15
subnet bits and 9 host bits. The block size in the third octet is 2 (256 - 254). So this
makes the subnets in the interesting octet 0, 2, 4, 6, etc., all the way to 254. The host
10.16.3.65 is in the 2.0 subnet. The next subnet is 4.0, so the broadcast address for the
2.0 subnet is 3.255. The valid host addresses are 2.1 through 3.254.

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Handout: Subnetting Question

Question13:
What is the maximum number of IP addresses that can be assigned to hosts on a local
subnet that uses the 255.255.255.224 subnet mask?
A.

14

B.

15

C.

16

D.

30

Answer: Option D
Explanation:
A /27 (255.255.255.224) is 3 bits on and 5 bits off. This provides 8 subnets, each with 30
hosts. Does it matter if this mask is used with a Class A, B, or C network address? Not at
all. The number of host bits would never change.

Question14:
You need to subnet a network that has 5 subnets, each with at least 16 hosts. Which
classful subnet mask would you use?
A.

255.255.255.192

B.

255.255.255.224

C.

255.255.255.240

D.

255.255.255.248

Answer: Option B
Explanation:
You need 5 subnets, each with at least 16 hosts. The mask 255.255.255.240 provides 16
subnets with 14 hosts-this will not work. The mask 255.255.255.224 provides 8 subnets,
each with 30 hosts. This is the best answer.

Question15:
If an Ethernet port on a router were assigned an IP address of 172.16.112.1/25, what
would be the valid subnet address of this host?
A.

172.16.112.0

B.

172.16.0.0

C.

172.16.96.0

D.

172.16.255.0

Answer: Option A
Explanation:
A /25 mask is 255.255.255.128. Used with a Class B network, the third and fourth octets
are used for subnetting with a total of 9 subnet bits, 8 bits in the third octet and 1 bit in
the fourth octet. Since there is only 1 bit in the fourth octet, the bit is either off or on-

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Handout: Subnetting Question

which is a value of 0 or 128. The host in the question is in the 0 subnet, which has a
broadcast address of 127 since 128 is the next subnet.

Question16:
Which of the following is a valid IP host address given the network ID of 191.254.0.0
while using 11 bits for subnetting?
a. 191.254.0.32
b. 191.254.0.96
c. 191.254.1.29
d. 191.54.1.64
*Answer: Choice C is correct: 191.254.1.29. The network ID 191.254.0.0 is a Class B
network address with a default subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. Adding 11 subnetting bits to
the default 16-bit subnet mask yields 27 subnet bits and makes the new subnet mask
255.255.255.224. Using 11 bits for subnetting provides 2046 subnets with a maximum of
30 hosts per subnet. To fin the subnet address interval, use the following procedure.
Convert the subnet mask 255.255.255.224 into binary. Next, convert the lowest order
subnet bit to decimal. In this item, the decimal value of the lowest-order non-zero bit is
32. Use the decimal value of the lowest-order bit as the interval for calculating subnet
IDs. The following table displays the host ID ranges for the first 10 subnets.
Subnet ID Host ID Range
191.254.0.0 191.254.0.1 -191.254.0.30
191.254.0.32 191.254.0.33 -191.254.0.62
191.254.0.64 191.254.0.65 -191.254.0.94
191.254.0.96 191.254.0.97 -191.254.0.126
191.254.0.128 191.254.0.129-191.254.0.158
191.254.0.160 191.254.0.161-191.254.0.190
191.254.0.192 191.254.0.193-191.254.0.222
191.254.0.224 191.254.0.225-191.254.0.254
191.254.1.0 191.254.1.1 -191.254.1.30
191.254.1.32 191.254.1.33 -191.254.1.62
...
As shown in the table, the IP addresses 191.254.0.32, 191.254.0.96 and 191.254.1.64 are
subnet IDs in this scenario. Therefore, these IP addresses cannot be used as host IDs,
given a network ID of 191.254.0.0 with 11 bits of subnetting.

Question17:

3201 Computer Networks 2014/2015

Handout: Subnetting Question

NuTex Corporation has been assigned the Class B network address 165.87.0.0. NuTex
needs to divide the network into eight subnets. What subnet mask should be applied to
the network to provide the most hosts per subnet?
a. 255.255.192.0
b. 255.255.224.0
c. 255.255.240.0
d. 255.255.248.0
*Answer: 255.255.240.0
2^3-2 = 6 subnets
2^4-2 = 14 subnets
(2^16 - 2^4) -2 = 2^12 - 2 = 4094 hosts possible per subnet
Because 3 bits of subnetting will only yield 6 usable subnets (7 if ip subnet-zero is
enabled), you will need to borrow another bit. To meet your minimum requirement of 8
subnets, and the maximum number of hosts per subnet, this Subnet mask will be correct:
255.255.240.0

Question18:
What is the broadcast address on subnet 32 given a prefix notation of 12.1.0.0/12?
a. 12.32.0.1
b. 12.32.0.255
c. 12.23.255.255
d. 12.47.255.255
*Answer: Choice d is correct. Given a prefix notation of 12.1.0.0/12, the broadcast
address on subnet 32 is 12.47.255.255. A prefix notation of /1 indicates a binary subnet
mask of 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 or 255.240.0.0 in dotted-decimal
notation. The subnet mask 255.240.0.0 contains 12 masked bits. The address 12.1.0.0
belongs to a Class A network address. When only one octet is used for subnetting, the
interval between valid subnets can be determined by subtracting the value of the octet
from 256, such as 256 - 240 = 16 in this scenario. The number 16 is both the first valid
address of the subnet ID and the interval between valid subnets. Therefore, the first valid
subnet ID is 12.16.0.0. Adding 16 to the first subnet ID value yields the second valid
subnet, which is subnet 32, and the corresponding IP address for this subnet ID is
12.32.0.0. Continuing this process, the third subnet ID is 12.48.0.0 and so on. The
broadcast address for subnet 32 is represented by 00001100 00101111 11111111

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Handout: Subnetting Question

11111111 in binary or 12.47.255.255 in dotted-decimal notation. In the second octet of

the broadcast address forsubnet 32, the first 4 bits are used for the subnet ID (0010), and
00100000 represents subnet 32. The broadcast address on subnet 32 is found by assigning
1s to each of the 20 rightmost bits that represent the host portion of the address. Exhibit 1
in this explanation shows the addresses and masks involved in this scenario.
The broadcast mask is formed by using 0s for the subnet bits and 1s for the host bits. In
this example, network 12.1.0.0/12 uses 12 network bits. Therefore, the first 12 bits of the
broadcast mask will be 0s. The remaining 20 bits from the total of 32 bits will be 1s. This
yields 00000000 00001111 11111111 11111111 in this example. The broadcast address
is calculated by performing a Boolean XOR operation on subnet 32 and the broadcast
mask. A Boolean XOR operation compares two bits.
A Boolean XOR operation evaluates to True(1) only when one bit is True and the other
bit is False (0). All other combinations result in False, such as when both bits are True or
both bits are False. To do the complete XOR operation in this item, first write down the
sugnet address in binary. On a second line, write down the broadcast mask. Finally,
perform a Boolean XOR operation on all corresponding bits.
00001100.00000001.00000000.00000000 = 12.1.0.0 network address
11111111.11110000.00000000.00000000 = 255.240.0.0 subnet mask
00001100.00010000.00000000.00000000 = 12.16.0.0 subnet 16
00001100.00100000.00000000.00000000 = 12.32.0.0 subnet 32
00001100.00110000.00000000.00000000 = 12.48.0.0 subnet 48
00000000.00001111.11111111.11111111 = 0.15.255.255 broadcast mask
00001100.00100000.00000000.00000000 = 12.32.0.0 subnet 32
00000000.00001111.11111111.11111111 = 0.15.255.255 broadcast mask
00001100.00101111.11111111.11111111 = 12.47.255.255 subnet 32 Broadcast address
Thus, the XOR operation yields the subnet 32 broadcast address of 12.47.255.255. Note
that the sum of the network subnet mask and the network broadcast mask is always
11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 in binary, or 255.255.255.255 in dotted
decimal notation.

Question19:
Is 196.16.144.99 / 23
a host, network or broadcast Address?
Solution:
Subnet mask is 11111111.11111111.11111110.00000000
255
255
254
0

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Magic no is 2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14

16
18
20

142
144
146

192.16.144.0 Network Number

162.16.146.0 Next Network
196.16.145.255 Broadcast Address
so the above address is Host Address

Question20:
How Many Networks?

Solution:
128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1
1 1
for 33
/26
64 host per network
0 - 63
64 - 127

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3201 Computer Networks 2014/2015

128 - 191
192 - 255
so 4 networks with 64 host each

Question21:
What is the problem in this Network?

Solution:
11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000
Magic Number is 32
N1 0 31
N2 32 63
N3 64 95
N4 96 127
..
Router is in network N2
Host is in network N3
so the router and the host are in separate networks
so if 173.32.2.62 / 26
Mask is 255.255.255.192
Magic # is 64
N1 0 63

Handout: Subnetting Question

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Handout: Subnetting Question

N2 64 127
N3 128 191
N4 192 255
Also is separate networks
so change ip address of the host to be any address in the following range
173.32.2.33 ---- 173.32.2.61

Question22:
What is the Subnet ?

A)
B)
C)
D)
E)

/ 25
/ 26
/ 28
/ 29
/ 30

Solution:
A) / 25
Subnet mask is 255.255.255.128
11111111.11111111.11111111.10000000
So this will create 2 networks
N1 start 0-127 broadcast
N2 start 128-255 broadcast
Magic number is 1
so not this as 33,49,47,62 all in 0-127 in one network so we need 2
B) / 26

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Handout: Subnetting Question

Subnet mask is 255.255.255.192

11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000
Magic number is 64
so
0 63
64 127
128 191
192 255
4 networks
not this also all in 0 63 network
C) / 28
Subnet mask is 255.255.255.240
11111111.11111111.11111111.11110000
Magis num is 16
0 15
16 31
32 47
48 63
64 - ..
..
.. 255
this is the solution as 33 and 46 are in network and 49 and 62 in other network
Question23:
A service provider has given you the Class C network range 209.50.1.0. Your company
must break the network into 20 separate subnets.
1) Determine the number of subnets and convert to binary
The binary representation of 20 = 00010100.
2) Reserve required bits in subnet mask and find Magic Number
The binary value of 20 subnets tells us that we need at least 5 network bits to satisfy
this requirement (since you cannot get the number 20 with any less than 5 bits
10100) - Our original subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 (Class C subnet) - The full binary
representation of the subnet mask is as follows:
255.255.255.0 = 11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000

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Handout: Subnetting Question

- We must convert 5 of the client bits (0) to network bits (1) in order to satisfy the
requirements:
New Mask = 11111111.11111111.11111111.11111000
- If we convert the mask back to decimal, we now have the subnet mask that will be
used on all the new networks 255.255.255.248 - Our increment bit is the last
possible network bit, converted back to a binary number:
New Mask = 11111111.11111111.11111111.1111(1)000 bit with the parenthesis is
your increment bit. If you convert this bit to a decimal number, it becomes the
number 8
3) Use magic # to find network ranges
- Start with your given network address and add your increment to the subnetted
octet:
209.50.1.0 209.50.1.8 209.50.1.16 etc
- You can now fill in your end ranges, which is the last possible IP address before you
start the next range
209.50.1.0 209.50.1.7 209.50.1.8 209.50.1.15 209.50.1.16 209.50.1.23 etc
- You can then assign these ranges to your networks! Remember the first and last
address from each range (network / broadcast IP) are unusable

Question24:
Your company would like to break the Class B private IP address range 172.16.0.0 into
60 different subnets
1) Determine the number of subnets and convert to binary
The binary representation of 60 = 00111100
2) Reserve required bits in subnet mask and find Magic Number
- The binary value of 60 subnets tells us that we need at least 6 network bits to satisfy
this requirement (since you cannot get the number 60 with any less than 6 bits
111100) - Our original subnet mask is 255.255.0.0 (Class B subnet) - The full binary
representation of the subnet mask is as follows:
255.255.0.0 = 11111111.11111111.00000000.00000000
- We must convert 6 of the client bits (0) to network bits (1) in order to satisfy the
requirements:
New Mask = 11111111.11111111.11111100.00000000
- If we convert the mask back to decimal, we now have the subnet mask that will be
used on all the new networks 255.255.252.0 - Our increment bit is the last possible
network bit, converted back to a binary number:

3201 Computer Networks 2014/2015

Handout: Subnetting Question

New Mask = 11111111.11111111.11111(1)00.00000000 bit with the parenthesis is

your increment bit. If you convert this bit to a decimal number, it becomes the
number 4
3) Use magic # to find network ranges
- Start with your given network address and add your increment to the subnetted
octet:
172.16.0.0 172.16.4.0 172.16.8.0 etc
- You can now fill in your end ranges, which is the last possible IP address before you
start the next range
172.16.0.0 172.16.3.255 172.16.4.0 172.16.7.255 172.16.8.0 172.16.11.255
etc
- You can then assign these ranges to your networks! Remember the first and last
address from each range (network / broadcast IP) are unusable