There has to be some way of identifying how much of an address is the network portion and how much is client portion. The subnet mask identifies this. It may also indicate the presence of a series of subnets within a network. This is a required definition for operating within a LAN.
255.255.255.0
yes
Any device (mac or not) receives its subnet mask from the DHCP service, or by manually configuring the interface. In the case of manual configuration you would need to check with your network administrator to find out the correct setting for the subnet mask.
You can borrow 6 bits. Which would create a 255.255.255.252 subnet mask, but this subnet only contains 2 usable IP addresses. 7 bits would be 255.255.255.254, but that subnet is too small to have any use in the real world.
195.85.8.0 is a class C network. The subnet mask would be 255.255.255.0 and the network address is 195.85.8.0
A subnet mask that would divide the 172.31.0.0 network into as many subnets as possible and support 600 uers on each subnet would be 255.255.255.0. Each subnet can communicate with each other through the gateway.
A subnet mask that would divide the 172.31.0.0 network into as many subnets as possible and support 600 uers on each subnet would be 255.255.255.0. Each subnet can communicate with each other through the gateway.
The network address of an IPv4 address of 192.168.7.5 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 would be 192.168.7.0. Remember that the subnet mask determines the network portion of the IP Address.
The subnet mask would be 255.255.255.0
If this is a default subnet mask, then it would be a class C subnet mask. If you are subnetting a network and this is not the default subnet mask, then it could be either a class A or class B.
It would not. If the network is too big, you have to subnet it, for purposes of administration and efficiency. IP version 6 would not change this situation.It would not. If the network is too big, you have to subnet it, for purposes of administration and efficiency. IP version 6 would not change this situation.It would not. If the network is too big, you have to subnet it, for purposes of administration and efficiency. IP version 6 would not change this situation.It would not. If the network is too big, you have to subnet it, for purposes of administration and efficiency. IP version 6 would not change this situation.
Someone would use a subnet mask calculator for splitting a network into sub networks. It is sometimes used to ease congestion on a network and divert traffic.