Subnetting adds order and increased performance by splitting up traffic in larger networks. When you subnet your network, you ensure that traffic destined for a particular device within that subnet stays within the subnet. This will minimize congestion in other parts of the network.

What are subnets used for?

Organizations will use a subnet to subdivide large networks into smaller, more efficient subnetworks. One goal of a subnet is to split a large network into a grouping of smaller, interconnected networks to help minimize traffic.

What are subnets and why are required?

In order to do this, an engineer needs to match each IP address class to a subnet mask. A subnet mask echoes an IP address, but it can only be utilized within an internal network. This mask helps to identify which part of the IP address relates to the network and which part relates to the host.