Variable Length Subnet Mask - VLSM

Variable Length Subnet Mask-VLSM

1.With Variable Length Subnet Mask (VLSM), a network administrator can use a long mask on networks with few hosts, and a short mask on subnets with many hosts.
2.A VLSM is a means of allocating IP addressing resources to subnets according to their individual need rather than some general network-wide rule.
3.Implementing VLSM is often referred to as "subnetting a subnet", and can be used to maximize addressing efficiency.
4.VLSM allows an organization to use more than one subnet mask within the same network address space.
5.When using VLSM to subnet an address, not all of the subnets have to be the same size.
A different subnet mask may be applied to some of the subnets to further subnet the address.
6.VLSM allows to divide big networks into smaller, different-sized slices. This enables you to make maximum use of your valuable IP address space.
7.In order to take advantage of VLSM, the proper routing protocol must be selected.