Understanding IP Address and Subnet

Title: Understanding IP Address and Subnet in Simple Terms

In this blog, I am explaining what an IP address is and what subnet means, in a simple way based on what I understood.

What is an IP address

An IP address is a unique number given to every device connected to a network. It is used to identify and communicate between devices.

Just like how a house has an address, every system on the internet has an IP address.

Example of an IP address
192.168.1.1

This is called IPv4 format.

Types of IP address

There are mainly two types

Public IP address
This is used on the internet and is unique globally

Private IP address
This is used inside local networks like home or office

Example of private IP
192.168.x.x
10.x.x.x

Structure of IP address

An IPv4 address has 4 parts separated by dots.

Example
192.168.1.10

Each part can have values from 0 to 255.

What is subnet

Subnet means dividing a large network into smaller networks.

Instead of managing one big network, we split it into smaller parts for better control and performance.

Why subnet is used

To reduce network traffic
To improve security
To organize networks properly

Subnet mask

Subnet mask is used to identify which part of the IP address is network and which part is host.

Example
IP address: 192.168.1.10
Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0

Here
192.168.1 is network part
10 is host part

CIDR notation

Subnet can also be written using CIDR format.

Example
192.168.1.0/24

Here /24 means first 24 bits are for network.

Example of subnetting

If I have a network 192.168.1.0/24, it has 256 IP addresses.

Range
192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255

Now I can split this into smaller subnets like

192.168.1.0/25
192.168.1.128/25

Each subnet will have fewer IPs.

What I understood

IP address is used to identify devices in a network.

Subnet helps in dividing networks into smaller manageable parts.

Both are important for networking and cloud services.

Conclusion

IP address and subnet are basic concepts in networking. Understanding them helps in working with systems, servers, and cloud platforms more effectively