Subnetting (FLSM & VLSM)

with examples
by
Krishna Mohan

Krishna.mohan.ec@gmail.com
As IP addresses are limited, it is not advisable to waste it, weather it is private IP or public IP.
A large network can be divide into various small networks using subnetting.
Subnetting involves conversion of host bits into network bits.

Methods of Subnetting:
a) FLSM (Fixed Length Subnet Mask)
b) VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Mask)

Division of network based on requirement:

a) Based on host bits : 2^h-2>=required address where h= no. of host bits
b) Based on network bits : 2^n>=required address where n=no of network bits

Addressing format with network & host bits as

Class & format Network Bits (N) Host bits (H)

A: N.H.H.H 8 24
B: N.N.H.H 16 16
C: N.N.N.H 24 8
Calculation of Subnet mask with FLSM

Example. Calculate subnet mask using Host Bits , each having 12 hosts or nodes or devices. Also provide IP
addresses of all devices. How many subnets available. Given network id as 199.1.1
Solution:
Step I: Calculation of host bits
For h host bits, 2^ℎ-2≥requirement
Here requirement=12
Hence h=4 (as 2^4-2=16-2=14 ≥ 12
Hence host bits required is 4

Step II: Calculation of subnet mask

Given class C address, which has format N.N.N.H or
11111111.11111111.11111111.00000000 (24 network bits & 8 host bits)
From the host bit calculation h=4, hence 4 LSB bits are host bits & remaining 4 bits of are for network bits.
On rearranging 11111111.11111111.11111111.11110000 (24+4=28 total network bits & 4 host bits), which is
subnet mask for the designed network, can be given as 28/4 (network bits/host bits).
Converting into decimal, subnet mask is 255.255.255.240

Step III: Calculation of no of sub-networks

No of networks=2^(no of network bits taken from host bits)= 2^(8-4)=2^4=16 subnets
Step IV: IP Range
Given IP is 199.1.1
Range=2^4= 16 (group of 16 is one subnetwork) & each having 16 devices or nodes.
199.1.1.0, 199.1.1.1, 199.1.1.2………………………………………………………………………………199.1.1.15
199.1.1.16, 199.1.1.17………………………………………………………………………………………...199.1.1.31
199.1.1.32…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
199.1.1.48…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
199.1.1.240, 199.1.1.241……………………………………………………………………………………….199.1.1.255

First address of each subnet is network ID (here 199.1.1.0, 199.1.1.16…….199.1.1.240)

Last address of each subnet is broadcast ID (here 199.1.1.15, 199.1.1.31……..199.1.1.255)
Network ID & Broadcast ID cannot be assigned to any device.
IPs other than network & broadcast ID may be assigned to any device
Above IPs are for subnet mask 255.255.255.240
Total IPs available for devices are 16*16-16*2=224
What is 192.168.1.10/26
It is a class C IP address with 26 network bits. The network bits used to calculate subnet mask.
Since class C has format N.N.N.H, where N is 8 bit network octet, & H is host bits
Given 26 network bits , hence the format 11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000
Host bits can be calculated as h=32-network bits. Here h=32-26=6
Thus subnet mask is 255.255.255.192 with IP 192.168.1.10
Calculation of subnet mask using VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Mask)
Here the length of block is variable

Example: Given the no of hosts as 100, 50 20 & 6. find IP addresses & subnet mask. Using Class C (192.168.1
network)

Solution: For 100 hosts:

2^h-2>=100, hence h=7 (host bits)
Hence \value is 8+8+8+(8-7)=25
Hence subnet mask is 11111111.11111111.11111111.10000000 i.e.255.255.255.128
Block size is 2^7=128 hence the range is
192.168.1.0/25 to 192.168.1.127/25 for 100 hosts

For 50 hosts:
2^h-2>=50, hence h=6 (host bits)
Hence \value is 8+8+8+(8-6)=26
Hence subnet mask is 11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000 i.e.255.255.255.192
Block size is 2^6=64 hence the range is
192.168.1.128/26 to 192.168.1.191/26 for 50 hosts
Solution: For 20 hosts:
2^h-2>=20, hence h=5 (host bits)
Hence \value is 8+8+8+(8-5)=27
Hence subnet mask is 11111111.11111111.11111111.11100000 i.e.255.255.255.224
Block size is 2^5=32 hence the range is
192.168.1.192/27 to 192.168.1.223/27 for 20 hosts

For 6 hosts:
2^h-2>=6, hence h=3 (host bits)
Hence \value is 8+8+8+(8-3)=29
Hence subnet mask is 11111111.11111111.11111111.11111000 i.e.255.255.255.248
Block size is 2^3=8 hence the range is
192.168.1.224/29 to 192.168.1.231/29 for 6 hosts

Hence complete range:

192.168.1.0/25 to 192.168.1.127/25 for 100 hosts
192.168.1.128/26 to 192.168.1.191/26 for 50 hosts
192.168.1.192/27 to 192.168.1.223/27 for 20 hosts
192.168.1.224/29 to 192.168.1.231/29 for 6 hosts

Any doubt mail at: Krishna.mohan.ec@gmail.com