What does CIDR stand for, and what is its purpose?

Question

What is the CIDR notation for the IPv4 network 172.16.0.0/16, which has a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0 and includes 65,536 addresses ranging from 172.16.0.0 to 172.16.255.255?

Answer 1

CIDR, which stands for Classless Inter-Domain Routing, is a system used to represent IP addresses and their associated subnets. It allows administrators to specify network blocks in a more flexible and efficient way than traditional IPv4 network classes.

In CIDR notation, an IP address is written in the form A.B.C.D/X, where A.B.C.D is the IP address and X is the number of bits used to represent the network portion of the address. For example, the CIDR notation 192.0.2.0/24 represents the IPv4 network 192.0.2.0 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, which corresponds to 256 addresses ranging from 192.0.2.0 to 192.0.2.255.

CIDR was developed to address the shortage of available IPv4 addresses and to allow for more efficient routing of Internet traffic. It has largely replaced the use of network classes in modern networks.

Answer 2

CIDR stands for Classless Inter-Domain Routing. It is a system used to represent IP addresses and their associated subnets, allowing administrators to specify network blocks in a more flexible and efficient way than traditional IPv4 network classes. CIDR was developed to address the shortage of available IPv4 addresses and to allow for more efficient routing of Internet traffic. It has largely replaced the use of network classes in modern networks.