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Networking & Telecommunications vocabulary · IP Addressing

Subnet

Meaning in networking & telecommunications, with examples

/ˈsʌbnet/nounCore term

In networking & telecommunications, subnet means: A smaller network created by dividing a larger IP address range, so that groups of devices such as offices, departments or servers can be kept separate and managed more easily.

In Turkish: alt ağ, subnet

How it is used

Used both as a noun and as a verb ('to subnet a network'). Engineers plan, allocate and assign subnets, often written in CIDR form such as 10.20.30.0/24. Devices in different subnets need a router to talk to each other.

Example sentences

  1. We gave the security cameras their own subnet, 10.20.50.0/24.

  2. The new server is in a different subnet, so traffic has to go through the router.

Common collocations

  • allocate a subnet
  • same subnet
  • subnet calculator
  • management subnet
  • subnet a network
  • subnet maskA number such as 255.255.255.0 that shows which part of an IPv4 address identifies the network and which part identifies the device; it can also be written as a prefix such as /24.
  • CIDRShort for Classless Inter-Domain Routing: the system of writing an IP network as an address plus a prefix length, such as 192.168.0.0/22, which replaced the old fixed address classes.
  • IP addressA unique numerical label given to every device on an IP network so that data can be sent to it, for example 192.168.1.20 in IPv4.
  • VLANShort for virtual LAN: a separate logical network created on a switch, so that devices plugged into the same hardware, for example staff PCs, guests and cameras, can be kept apart.
  • default gatewayThe router address that a device sends traffic to when the destination is outside its own subnet; without it, a device can only talk to its local network.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: IP Addressing

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