Subnetting with the Six-Fingered Man

You might be the Six Fingered Count from "The Princess Bride".

You might be someone genetically endowed with a second thumb on your left hand

You might be a person with an overactive imagination, or maybe someone who just uses the unused thumb on your right hand

Hurray. Another big text-graphic.

One of the engineers I worked with in Alaska showed me how to count subnets on my fingers. It does take practice, but with practice it becomes a lot easier than looking up a table or getting out a calculator.

I didn't put in the /24. I can brute force memorize that one. dot-zero.

I didn't put in the /31 either. It is a network address and a broadcast address. I've never seen a /31 used. If i needed two addresses, I'd just use two /32's

I didn't put in the /32 either, because I can do that network in my head.

Maybe just a look will help you remember your subnets. Sometimes I like to just know my networks. Whenever it matters, I will still do proper math and make sure.

last updated May 2015

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