IP Subnetting Helps Efficiently Organize IP Addresses Into Subnets
Easily import IP addresses and subnets
SolarWinds® IP Address Manager (IPAM) is designed to help simplify the process of importing your IP addresses and subnets. Leverage the intuitive, easy-to-use Import Wizard to quickly upload IP addresses and subnets from Excel .XLS, .XLSX, and .CSV spreadsheets. You can also use the automatic Subnet Discovery Wizard to find selected routers for subnets and their IP addresses to import them into IPAM.
Re-size and re-organize your IP address subnets
IPAM helps make it easier to organize your IP space. The tool includes a Subnet Allocation Wizard built to subcategorize your IP address space into subnets perfectly sized for your network. SolarWinds IPAM is designed to use a supernet address, a Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR), and desired subnet size to list available subnets.
IPAM’s drag-and-drop interface can also create groups containing any number of other groups, supernets, subnets, and individual IP addresses with the added ability to create and use your own custom fields.
Master IP subnetting with comprehensive subnet management
IPAM is built to deliver uncompromising IP address subnet management capabilities in a single tool. Since IPAM combines DNS (Domain Name System) and DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) with general IP subnet management, it can be easy to keep an eye on your entire IP space.
Using SolarWinds IPAM, you can gather important details from the devices on your network and use this information to track and monitor IP address usage, noting the inactive ones. All data and statistics are stored to help make the auditing process easier.
Monitor your IP address subnets from a unified dashboard and receive alerts on IP-related issues
IPAM comes equipped with a customizable dashboard to provide insights on IP subnetting, IP subnet/scope utilization, and more. Using a single dashboard can help you more easily track and visualize IPs and subnets across your entire network, including cloud and virtual environments.
SolarWinds IPAM is also built to provide automated alerts on depleted subnets/scopes or IP conflicts, so you can quickly troubleshoot and respond to IP-related issues.
Simplify IP subnetting with IP Subnet Calculator
The IP Subnet Calculator in SolarWinds IPAM is designed to automatically find available IP addresses and subnets, then list them according to their size, mask, range, and broadcast address.
With the calculator, you can more accurately define subnets and better understand how your IP address space is being used. This active subnet tracking can also provide the details you need to ensure conflict-free IP assignments across your network.
What is IP subnetting?
Every IP address contains three different classes of subnet masks: Class A, Class B, and Class C. IP subnetting is the process of breaking down these three classes into smaller portions, called subnets. The title “subnet” refers to any segment of a larger network comprised of many other IP addresses sharing the same IP address routing prefix.
What is the purpose of IP subnetting?
The purpose of IP subnetting is to divide and re-organize a network to make it more functional. Suppose you have a large network that hasn’t been broken down into smaller IP subnets, meaning everything on the network is using only one IP subnet. This may cause the following problems:
- Since all hosts share the same subnet, all broadcasts sent over that subnet will be processed by all the hosts rather than one or two. This can lead to unnecessary network traffic.
- Servers with sensitive information are co-mingling with other unsecured servers and workstations, which can make network security a concern.
- If all hosts share the same IP subnet, there’s no logical organizational structure.
IP subnetting helps alleviate these issues by creating more subnets to share the load and handle the stress of a busy network.
How to find a subnet from an IP
Finding a subnet from an IP address can refer to two things—physically locating the subnet on a device or calculating the IP subnet.
While there are common methods for manually finding subnets on Windows, Mac, and Linux, an IP subnet calculator tool is designed to make it easier to find the IP subnet numerically. Simply input the IP address you want to find the subnet for, and the tool can automatically calculate the subnet for you.
How to create a subnet
To subnet an IP address without an IP subnet calculator, you can use the binary method to make the default subnet mask larger by borrowing some bits from the host ID segment of the IP address to create a subnetwork ID. You’ll end up with a list of subnets you can use for your network.
However, an IP subnet calculator is built to automate the subnet creation process, which can help ensure an accurate and functional result with less chance of IP address conflict.
SolarWinds IP Address Manager is designed to make it easier for users to perform IP subnetting. Within IPAM, you can use the dashboard to quickly add and label accurate subnets whenever you need to. You can also edit existing subnets and set automatic scanning intervals.
What is a subnet mask?
A subnet mask is a way of determining how many subnets you want and establishes the range of possible IP addresses within a network.
For example, one subnet mask simply limits the number of valid IP addresses a network can have, while multiple subnet masks help partition and organize an entire network into IP subnets or sub-subnets.
How does SolarWinds IPAM help manage IP subnets?
SolarWinds IP Address Manager is designed to give you complete control over your IP space and help you manage subnets with the ability to easily create, edit, and bulk add subnets from a single page.
If you’ve been keeping track of your IP addresses and subnets using Excel or spreadsheets, the Import Wizard is built to automatically import this data into IPAM to help reduce manual setup time. IPAM can also use ping and SNMP protocols to gather network device information, which can be useful for figuring out subnets.
SolarWinds IPAM is also built to help you break down your network into IP subnets and ensure they’re correctly sized. IPAM’s Subnet Allocation Wizard can also help ensure you’re using your IP address space most efficiently.
Other key IPAM functionalities to help you manage IP addresses include:
- What is IP subnetting?
- What is the purpose of IP subnetting?
- How to find a subnet from an IP
- How to create a subnet
- What is a subnet mask?
- How does SolarWinds IPAM help manage IP subnets?
What is IP subnetting?
Every IP address contains three different classes of subnet masks: Class A, Class B, and Class C. IP subnetting is the process of breaking down these three classes into smaller portions, called subnets. The title “subnet” refers to any segment of a larger network comprised of many other IP addresses sharing the same IP address routing prefix.
“IPAM allows us to implement a planning process for system administrators to identify and reserve their preferred IP address prior to building their systems. If there were an IP conflict, we would be able to ding the administrator that didn’t follow the process.”
Network Engineer
Fortune 500 Telecommunications Services Company
Optimize IP subnetting from organization to calculation
IP Address Manager
Achieve comprehensive IP address subnet management.
Simplify IP subnetting with the IP Subnet Calculator tool.
Easily monitor IP-related issues and troubleshoot effectively.
