Question 1hardmultiple choice
Full question →hardmultiple choiceObjective-mapped
A host is configured as 192.168.100.65/26. What is the valid host range for its subnet?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Good practice is not just finding the correct option. The wrong answers often show the exact trap the exam wants you to fall into.
A
Best answer
192.168.100.65 to 192.168.100.126
This is correct because the subnet is 192.168.100.64/26, leaving .65 through .126 as usable hosts.
B
Distractor review
192.168.100.64 to 192.168.100.127
This is wrong because those are the network and broadcast addresses, not usable endpoints.
C
Distractor review
192.168.100.1 to 192.168.100.62
This is wrong because that range belongs to a different /26 subnet.
D
Distractor review
192.168.100.66 to 192.168.100.127
This is wrong because it excludes one valid host and includes the broadcast address.
Common exam trap
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
A frequent exam trap is selecting the entire subnet range including the network and broadcast addresses as valid hosts, such as choosing 192.168.100.64 to 192.168.100.127. Candidates often forget that the first address is reserved as the network identifier and the last as the broadcast address, both unusable for hosts. Another pitfall is misidentifying the subnet block, for example, confusing the 64–127 range with 0–63 or 128–191, leading to incorrect host ranges. This mistake causes incorrect IP planning and routing errors in real networks.
Technical deep dive
How to think about this question
Subnetting divides a larger IP network into smaller, manageable segments by borrowing bits from the host portion of the address to create subnetworks. In this question, the IP address 192.168.100.65 with a /26 mask means the first 26 bits are network bits, leaving 6 bits for host addresses. This results in subnets with 64 IP addresses each (2^6 = 64), including network and broadcast addresses. The /26 subnet mask (255.255.255.192) creates subnets with address ranges incrementing by 64 in the last octet: 0-63, 64-127, 128-191, and 192-255. Since the host IP is 192.168.100.65, it falls into the 64-127 subnet. The first address (192.168.100.64) is the network address, and the last (192.168.100.127) is the broadcast address, leaving 192.168.100.65 through 192.168.100.126 as valid host addresses. A common exam trap is confusing the network and broadcast addresses as valid hosts or miscalculating subnet boundaries by ignoring the subnet mask’s effect on the address range. Practically, Cisco devices use these subnet boundaries to route traffic correctly and prevent IP conflicts. Understanding subnetting ensures accurate IP allocation and efficient network design.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- A /26 subnet mask divides the IP address space into blocks of 64 addresses, including network and broadcast addresses.
- The network address is always the first IP in the subnet block and cannot be assigned to a host device.
- The broadcast address is always the last IP in the subnet block and is reserved for broadcasting to all hosts in that subnet.
- Valid host IP addresses fall between the network and broadcast addresses, excluding both.
- Subnet boundaries are determined by incrementing the block size defined by the subnet mask in the last octet.
- Cisco devices use subnet masks to correctly route traffic and prevent IP address conflicts within subnets.
- Misidentifying subnet boundaries or including network/broadcast addresses as hosts leads to configuration errors.
- Understanding subnetting is critical for IP address planning and troubleshooting in Cisco network environments.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Related practice questions
Related 200-301 practice-question pages
Use these pages to review the topic behind this question. This is how one missed question becomes focused revision.
CCNA subnetting practice questions
Practise IPv4 subnetting, CIDR, masks, host ranges and subnet selection.
CCNA OSPF practice questions
Practise OSPF neighbours, router IDs, metrics, areas and routing-table interpretation.
CCNA VLAN practice questions
Practise VLANs, access ports, trunks, allowed VLANs and switching scenarios.
CCNA STP practice questions
Practise spanning tree, root bridge election, port roles and STP troubleshooting.
CCNA EtherChannel practice questions
Practise LACP, PAgP, port-channel behaviour and bundle requirements.
CCNA ACL practice questions
Practise standard and extended ACLs, permit/deny logic and traffic filtering.
CCNA NAT practice questions
Practise static NAT, dynamic NAT, PAT and inside/outside address translation.
CCNA DHCP practice questions
Practise DHCP scopes, relay, leases and troubleshooting.
CCNA show ip route practice questions
Practise routing-table output, longest-prefix match, AD and route selection.
CCNA show interfaces trunk practice questions
Practise trunk verification and VLAN forwarding across switches.
CCNA wireless security practice questions
Practise WLAN security, authentication and wireless architecture concepts.
CCNA IPv6 practice questions
Practise IPv6 addressing, routes, neighbour discovery and common IPv6 exam traps.
More questions from this exam
Keep practising from the same exam bank, or move into a focused topic page if this question exposed a weak area.
Question 1
A router learns the same prefix from both OSPF and EIGRP. Which route is installed by default?
Question 2
A router shows this output: R1#show ip ospf neighbor Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface 10.1.1.2 1 FULL/DR 00:00:34 192.168.12.2 GigabitEthernet0/0 10.1.1.3 1 2WAY/DROTHER 00:00:39 192.168.12.3 GigabitEthernet0/0 Which statement is correct?
Question 3
What is the OSPF metric called?
Question 4
A non-root switch has two uplinks toward the root bridge. One path has a lower total STP cost than the other. What role will the lower-cost uplink have?
Question 5
A router interface applies this ACL inbound: 10 deny tcp any any eq 80 20 permit ip any any A user reports that web browsing to a server by IP address fails, but ping works. Which statement best explains the behavior?
Question 6
A router learns route 198.51.100.0/24 from OSPF with AD 110 and also has a static route to the same prefix configured with AD 150. Which route is installed?
FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 200-301 question test?
A /26 subnet mask divides the IP address space into blocks of 64 addresses, including network and broadcast addresses.
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: 192.168.100.65 to 192.168.100.126 — A /26 creates blocks of 64 addresses. In plain language, the subnets in the last octet are 0–63, 64–127, 128–191, and 192–255. Because the host address is 192.168.100.65, it belongs to the 64–127 block. In that block, 192.168.100.64 is the network address and 192.168.100.127 is the broadcast address. That leaves 192.168.100.65 through 192.168.100.126 as the valid host range. This checks whether you can identify both the subnet boundary and the usable range.
What should I do if I get this 200-301 question wrong?
Then try more questions from the same exam bank and focus on understanding why the wrong options are tempting.
Discussion
Loading comments…
Sign in to join the discussion.