different network mask and subnet mask and netmask

Question

1- what is network mask?

2- what is subnet mask?

is there any differnt between network mask and subnet mask?

i'm tried to search about network mask and nothing found is it called netmask ?

thank you

Answer 1

Originally, IPv4 was divided into networks by network classes, which have been deprecated since 1993. Subnets were networks with masks longer than the natural network mask for the network class.

With the demise of network classes, people still refer to the networks used as a subnet. A subnet is a network with a mask longer than the parent network, but it is also a network in its own right. All IPv4 networks are subnets of 0.0.0.0/0, but they are also networks.

Really subnet is a verb today, rather than a noun, and it is the process of chopping a network into longer network masks than the original network. For example, the network 203.113.0.0/24 could be subnetted into 203.113.0.0/25 and 203.113.0.128/25, and you could call those networks as subnets of the original network, or simply call them networks.

Simply put, network and subnet are really the same thing if used as nouns, but network is more appropriate today as a noun, and subnet as a verb. A network or subnet mask is the same thing because there are no more predefined network classes.

This two-part answer explains about it, and there is even a section on the deprecated network classes.