starting out at four.

(if you aren't good with multiplication, when you get to the higher
numbers, you can actually just write the numbers out to the side twice and add them
together to get the number for the next row).
Next, fill in the netmask for the /24 network and the /16 network, which should also be easy
to remember (if you are about to take the exam and can't remember /24 and /16 netmasks,
you might as well hang it up). The netmask for the /30 network is also fairly easy to
remember, but if you forget any of the netmasks, all that needs to be done is subtract the
number of hosts directly to the left of it to get the next netmask. For example,
255.255.255.252 provides for four hosts (two useable, because zero is the network and .4 is
the broadcast address). If you take 252 and subtract 4 from it, you get the netmask for the
next row, 255.255.255.248. If you take 255.255.255.248 and subtract its 8 hosts, you get
255.255.255.240, which is the netmask for the next row. This works all the way down to
the /24 network.
The only odd netmask to memorize is the /23 netmask, which is 255.255.254.0. That is also
not hard to remember because it is just one off from the .255 directly above it. Note that
after the /23 network, all of the network masks are identical to the /25 - /30 networks, just
move them over one octet to the left. So from /22 to /17, you already have the needed
information, just fill it in.
For the fourth column, just put a 1 in the /24 network and put in multiples of two
up the
chart from the /24 network, as well as down the chart, to the /16 row.
As you can see, once you understand the table, it can be reproduced with very
little
memorization.
How to use the chart
Now that you have the chart, if a simulation question calls for a /27 netmask, instead of
writing it out in binary and converting it to decimal, you can just refer to the chart and plug
in the netmask 255.255.255.224.
If the exam question asks for the network and broadcast address of a host, for example,
192.168.1.68 /27, simply look at the hosts provided by the /27 network mask, which is 32.
Now simply add by 32 until you get to a subnet higher than the .68 host (be sure to add 32
each time and not get into using multiples of 2, which is easy to do here. If you get the
numbers, 32, 64, 128, 256, you doing it wrong and will miss questions on the exam). What
you should come up with is this:
32
64
96
128
Since the address is 192.168.1.68, it must fall in the subnet between 64 and 128. And since
the first address of the subnet is the network address and the last address of the subnet is the
broadcast, the network address is 192.168.1.64 and the broadcast address is 192.168.1.95.
If the exam asks to find a network that will allow for 4 subnets and at least 48
hosts per

subnet, just look at the table and pick the row that matches:
Host Netmask #subnet
26/ 64 255.255.255.192 4

If a question involves two IP addresses, for example 172.145.1.85 /28 and 172.145.1.92 /28
and the questions asks if they are in the same network, just look at the hosts provided by
the /28 netmask, which is 16. Count by 16 until you pass the networks involved:
16
32
48
64
72
80
96

Since you know that the network address is 172.145.1.80 and the broadcast address is
172.145.1.95, then you know both IP addresses are in the same network.
The Cisco exams are geared toward people who are sharp at math. If you aren't a math
wizard, you will be at a disadvantage to those who are, because a good portion of the
INTRO and ICND exams deal with subnetting. If you aren't good with math, the subnetting
cheat sheet will only help so much (and it won't help with converting binary or hex at all),
as some of the questions are asked in a manner designed specifically to confuse a person as
much as possible. If a subnetting question is especially confusing, don't waste a large
amount of time on it.
If you know your stuff, you can miss some subnetting questions and still pass the exam. It
would be better to miss some subnetting questions and answer all of the questions on the
exam, then to run out of time on the exam because you spent too much time on a
particularly confusing subnetting question. Remember, if you pass the exam by one point,
you are just as Cisco certified as the math wizard who passed the exam with a score of 978.
If you aren't sharp at math, your goal should be to know your stuff well enough that you can
miss some of the trickier subnetting questions on the exam and still pass comfortably. It
can't be said enough times, you have to know your stuff.