Chapter 6

VLSM and CIDR

Introduction
Networkers never predicted that the Internet would grow to its current size. As a result, classful IP addressing and classful routing protocols were assumed to be a scalable solution to the early Internet. They have been using IP addressing schemes and routing protocols that were meant for a smaller Internet and still work in todays smaller internetworks. This chapter presents IP addressing schemes that allow more efficient use of the current IP address space. However, the result of using these IP addressing schemes is the need for more advanced routing protocols. Students need to know how to perform advanced IP addressing calculations so they can use network address space efficiently. Understanding how to IP address an internetwork efficiently and correctly will allow routers to route traffic quickly, efficiently, and accurately.

LESSON 1. The Need for Advanced IP Addressing

After studying this lesson, you should be able to: Define the following key terms: EITF, route summarization, supernet, CIDR,

and

VLSM
Compare and contrast classful and classless addressing Briefly explain Classless Inter - Domain Routing (CIDR) Explain VLSM concept and calculations

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Introduction Prior to 1981, IP addresses used only the first 8 bits to specify the network portion of the address. In 1981, RFC 791 modified the IPv4 32-bit address to allow for three different classes: Class A addresses used 8 bits for the network portion of the

address, Class B used 16 bits, and Class C used 24 bits. This format became known
as classful IP addressing.

Figure 6.1 IPv4 Classful Addressing Structure

Because IP address space was depleting rapidly, the Internet Engineering Task Force

(IETF) introduced Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR). CIDR uses Variable Length Subnet Masking (VLSM) to help conserve address space. VLSM is simply subnetting a
subnet With the introduction of CIDR and VLSM, ISPs could now assign one part of a classful network to one customer and different part to another customer. This discontiguous address assignment by ISPs was paralleled by the development of

classless routing protocols.

Classless routing protocols do include the subnet mask in routing updates and are not required to perform summarization. The classless routing protocols discussed in this course are RIPv2, EIGRP and OSPF.

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When the ARPANET was commissioned in 1969, no one anticipated that the Internet would explode. In 1989, ARPANET transformed into what we now call the Internet. As of January 2007, there are over 433 million hosts on internet

Initiatives to conserve IPv4 address space include: o VLSM & CIDR notation (1993, RFC 1519) o Network Address Translation (1994, RFC 1631) o Private Addressing (1996, RFC 1918)

Classful Routing Protocol Using classful IP addresses, subnet mask of a network address could be determined by the value of the first octet. The router receiving the routing update could determine the subnet mask simply by examining the value of the first octet. RIPv1 only needed to propagate the network address of known routes and did not need to include the subnet mask in the routing update. The subnet mask was directly related to the network address.

Figure 6.2 Routing updates using classful routing protocol

Classless IP Addressing By 1992, members of the IETF had serious concerns about the exponential growth of the Internet. o o Limited scalability of Internet routing tables. Eventual exhaustion of 32-bit IPv4 address space. 104

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In 1993, the IETF introduced Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) which provides: o o More efficient use of IPv4 address space.

Prefix aggregation or route summarization, which reduced the size of routing

tables.

CIDR and Route Summarization To CIDR-compliant routers, address class is meaningless. The network portion of the address is determined by the network subnet mask, also known as the network prefix, or prefix length (/8, /19, etc.). The network address is no longer determined by the class of the address.

Figure 6.3 Route Summarization

The capability for routes to be summarized as a single route helped reduce the size of Internet routing tables. A supernet summarizes multiple network addresses with a mask that is less than (or a summary of) the classful mask.

Propagating VLSM and supernet routes requires a classless routing protocol, because the subnet mask can no longer be determined by the value of the first octet. Classless routing protocols include the subnet mask with the network address in the routing update. Example of classless routing protocols are RIPv2, EIGRP, IS-IS, OSPF and BGP.

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How to Summarize Routes Steps to calculate a route summary. a. List networks in binary format. b. Count number of left most matching bits to determine summary routes mask c. Copy the matching network address bits and add zero bits to determine the summarized

Figure 6.4 Calculating Route Summary

Variable Length Subnet Masking (VLSM) VLSM is the process of subnetting a subnet. More than one subnet mask can be used. It provides a more efficient use of IP addresses as compared to classful IP addressing A serious limitation of using only a single subnet mask across a given network-prefix (the number of network or 1 bits in the mask) was that an organization is locked into

a fixed-number of fixed-sized subnets.

VLSM enables a network number to be configured with different subnet masks on different interfaces. o o o o Subnet an already subnetted network address. Conserves IP addresses. More efficient use of available address space. Allows for more hierarchical levels within an addressing plan.

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Example: a. Subnet again, 10.1.0.0/16, to create 8 256 more bits are borrowed subnets with a /24 mask. The mask allows for 254 host subnet. from: addresses Subnets per range

10.1.0.0 / 24 to

10.1.255.0 / 24.
b. Use the same process for subnet 10.2.0.0/16.

c. Subnet 10.3.0.0/16, 12 more bits are borrowed again, to create 4,096 subnets with a /28 mask. The mask allows for 14 host addresses per subnet. Subnets range from: 10.3.0.0

/ 28 to 10.3.255.240 / 28

d. Subnet 10.4.0.0/16, 4 more bits are borrowed again, to create 16 subnets with a /20 mask. The mask allows for 2,046 host addresses per subnet. Subnets range from:

10.4.0.0 / 20 to 10.4.240.0 / 20

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Lesson 1 Review Questions

Directions. Answer the following questions. 1. What developments have allowed us to carry on using IP version 4 without completely running out of addresses? 2. Why did early routing protocols such as RIPv1 not include subnet mask information in routing updates? 3. Why was CIDR introduced? 4. Which routing protocols support CIDR and VLSM? 5. What is a supernet?

Chapter 6 Quiz
Directions. On the space provided before each number, choose the letter of the correct answer. 1. What is a name for routing protocols that support VLSM and CIDR? A. Interior routing protocols C. Distance vector routing protocols B. Exterior routing protocols D. Classless routing protocols 2 Which subnet mask would produce a subnet with up to 30 host addresses? A. 255.255.255.224 C. 255.255.255.248 B. 255.255.255.240 D. 255.255.255.252 3. The class C networks 200.2.0.0/24, 200.2.1.0/24, 200.2.2.0/24 and 200.2.3.0/24 are summarized as 200.2.0.0/22. What name is given to 200.2.0.0/22? A. Subnet C. Default route B. Supernet D. Groupnet 4. 192.168.1.0 is subnetted with subnet mask /28. Which of the following is a subnet address? A. 192.168.1.60 C. 192.168.1.140 B. 192.168.1.100 D. 192.168.1.176 5. A point-to-point link has been given the subnet 192.168.7.240/28. How many host addresses are wasted? A. 4 C. 28 B. 12 D. 44 Instructional Manual in CCNA 102 CISCO 2 108

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6. How many host addresses are available on a subnet with the subnet mask 255.255.255.224? A. 2 C. 14 B. 6 D. 30 A 192.168.3.64/27 192.168.3.128/27 B 192.168.4.0/27

192.168.3.192/27

192.168.3.224/27

7. Refer to the diagram above. The routers are running RIPv1. Router B sends an update containing information about 192.168.3.224. What subnet mask will router A apply to this network? A. /16 C. /25 B. /23 D. /27 8. A network has 50 hosts. What subnet mask would give a subnet with as few as possible unused addresses? A. 255.255.255.0 C. 255.255.255.192 B. 255.255.255.128 D. 255.255.255.224 9 . Which is an advantage of CIDR? A. Allows administrators to use classful routing protocols. B. Allows routers to have smaller routing tables. C. Allows administrators to create subnets. D. Allows hosts to share public IP addresses. 10. A summary route in a routing table is given as 180.32.0.0/13. Which range of addresses will match this summary? A. 180.32.0.0 to 180.32.255.255 C. 180.32.0.0 to 180.35.255.255 B. 180.32.0.0 to 180.33.255.255 D. 180.32.0.0 to 180.39.255.255

Problem Solving Activities

Solve the following problems. 1. An administrator needs to address the following networks: Site A: 400 hosts Site B: 350 hosts Site C: 300 hosts Site D: 300 hosts Site E: 250 hosts And 6 point-to-point links. Instructional Manual in CCNA 102 CISCO 2 109

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Classful subnetting is used, with Class B private address 172.16.0.0. All subnets must have the same mask. The subnets should be as small as possible. a. How many bits are borrowed? b. What is the subnet mask? c. How many subnets would this give? d. How many hosts on each? e. How many addresses are wasted on point-to-point links? 2. What address could be used to summarise the following group of addresses? 194.3.0.0/21, 194.3.8.0/22, 194.3.12.0/22, 194.3.16.0/22, 194.3.20.0/22 Summary Route: 3. What address could be used to summarise the following group of addresses? 170.16.0.0/16, 170.17.0.0/17, 170.17.128.0/17 Summary Route: 4. Subnet 172.16.0.0/16 by borrowing 4 bits. Network address and Host addresses mask

Broadcast address

Take the fourth subnet from the previous question and subnet it again by borrowing additional two bits.

Network address and mask

Host addresses

Broadcast address

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