subnet mask

subnet mask definition - telecom
In Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), an address mask, i.e., address filter, that selectively includes or excludes certain values to distinguish between the subnetwork address and the host address in order to enable a router to forward packets correctly in a network that has been subnetted. See also IPv4, router, subnet, and subnetting.

Webster's New World Telecom Dictionary Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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