Okay, so yesterday I was messing around with some network configurations, and I stumbled upon something interesting. It all started with a simple task: I needed to change the subnet mask on one of my virtual machines. Nothing fancy, just a routine adjustment.
I logged into the machine and opened up the network settings. You know, the usual drill. I was expecting to see the standard 255.255.255.0 (or /24 in CIDR notation) mask, but for some reason, I got the idea to try something different. This time, I wanted a bigger network.
Experimenting with Subnet Masks
Instead of the usual /24, I punched in 64 and then I thought to test the IPv6 so I config it to 44 .
I’ll admit, I wasn’t entirely sure what would happen. I mean, I understood the basics of subnetting, but this was a bit outside my usual comfort zone. I applied the changes and held my breath. The network connection dropped for a second, and then… it came back!
Checking the Result
I quickly opened up a command prompt and ran a check to see the interface IP configuration, just to make sure everything was as expected.
- I was half-expecting to see some errors, or for the connection to just die completely.
- So I’ve checked what was the assigned address and their prefix.
- Bingo, the interface got /64 and /44 prefix.
It works! I was able to ping other devices on the network, access the internet, everything seemed fine. I spent the rest of the day experimenting with different configurations, seeing how far I could push it. It was a fun little exercise, and I definitely learned a thing or two about network masks in the process.
So, yeah, that’s my story about my little adventure. It wasn’t a groundbreaking discovery or anything, but it was a good reminder that sometimes, the best way to learn is to just try things out and see what happens. You might be surprised at the results!
