subnet masks

do all classes (i.e A, B and C) use the same technique for alloting subnet masks? do all of them use the first 3 bits (from the left) of their respective host ID's to assign subnet masks? Or do the allotment differ from class to class?

Have you read the article on subnetting before posting the quiestions

Arani can you elaborate on that a little bit ?

i did go through the topic on subnetting, completely forgetting the fact that out of the last 8 bits in the host ID section, we could use up all the 8 bits (not really as till the last bit if used, would generate the broadcast address of that particular network), and leave nothing for the host ID. but then its a bone contention between the no. of networks we want and the number of hosts per network we want to allot, that we decides the no. of bits we would be using for the subnet mask and the host ID. thank you for steering my attention towards that minor detail.

Dear Tarun, i have elaborated the full 8 "bits" on this issue, no pun intended! hope it aids your comprehension.

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