subnetting

     

In computer networks that use the Internet Protocol, a subnetwork or subnet is a range of logical adresses within the address space that is assigned to an organization. The addresses of all nodes in a subnet start with the same binary sequence, which is the subnet's network ID and subnet ID. In IPv4, the subnet is identified by its base address and subnet mask. The CIDR-style prefix notation (e.g., /24) is functionally equivalent to a subnet mask, and generally easier to understand.