Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!purdue!decwrl!hplabs!hp-ses!hpcuhb!hpindda!tozz
From: tozz@hpindda.HP.COM (Bob Tausworthe)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: subnet mask problem
Message-ID: <6200023@hpindda.HP.COM>
Date: 24 May 89 00:10:19 GMT
Organization: HP Information Networks, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 15

I have a question concerning subnet masks. Normally, the masks I have 
seen are a sequence of 1's followed by a sequence of 0's, something like:
255.255.0.0. This corresponds to the high order portion of the IP address
denoting the network number, and the low order portion denoting the subnet
and host number portions.

However, because the algorithm for using masks is to perform a logincal AND 
and test for equality, technically 255.255.0.255 could be used as a mask.
Or could it?

1) is a mask such as 255.255.0.255 even legal (i.e. conform to specifications)

2) does anybody know of a network user whose mask is of the form above.

			     tozz@hpda.hp.com