Which term describes the practice of subnetting by borrowing bits from the host portion?

• A. Subnetting
• B. Routing
• C. Switching
• D. Bridging

Answer: (A)

Taking bits from the host portion of an IP address to extend the network portion creates multiple smaller networks from one larger network—this is subnetting. By increasing the network prefix length (for example, moving from a /24 to a /27), you borrow bits from the host part to form additional subnets. This means more subnetworks but fewer addresses available per subnet. For instance, a single /24 can be divided into eight /27 subnets, each offering up to 30 usable addresses.

Routing, switching, and bridging describe other network functions. Routing selects paths between networks, switching forwards frames within a single network, and bridging connects separate network segments at layer 2. They don’t describe the act of creating subnets by altering how many host bits are used for the network portion.