What is the dotted decimal equivalent of a /26 prefix length?

To derive the dotted decimal equivalent of a /26 prefix length, it's essential to understand how prefix lengths relate to subnet masks. The /26 indicates that the first 26 bits of the subnet mask are set to 1 (representing the network part of the IP address), while the remaining bits are set to 0.

In binary, a /26 subnet mask is represented as:

11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000

Breaking this down, the first three octets consist of eight 1s each, leading to:

• 11111111 in binary equals 255 in decimal for the first octet,

• 11111111 in binary equals 255 in decimal for the second octet,

• 11111111 in binary equals 255 in decimal for the third octet,

• The last octet has the first two bits as 1 and the next six bits as 0, which in binary is 11000000. This equals 192 in decimal.

When you combine these decimal values, the subnet mask for a /26 prefix length is represented in dotted decimal notation as:

255.255.255.192.

Thus, the correct option accurately reflects the binary to decimal conversion for