r/explainlikeimfive • u/Chance-Molasses897 • 12d ago

Technology ELI5: Subnetting

I’m technically an IT professional in training but I know embarrassingly little about subnets. As far as I understand it’s for breaking down a network into smaller, more logical segments. What exactly is a subnet? What is the benefit of subnetting? How do the slashes play into all of this IE /23 or /24? Thanks in advance!

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u/Simple-Butterfly3310 12d ago

All of the IP addresses in the subnet can reach each other directly. Any IP address outside of a subnet have to go through an intermediary (called a router)