How exactly do subnet masks work in terms of how packets are delivered?

Question

I’m studying for a certification at the moment so I know a medium amount about the structure of subletting. The one thing my courses don’t explain very well is the actual function/process of how this works.

Specifically one thing I learned really upended my understanding. The example was if you have a host with the address 10.1.16.42/24 and a host with the address 10.1.16.200/16 would they need a router to communicate?

From my understanding they would, the first host is on the network 10.1.16 and the host section is 42. The second one is on 10.1 and the host section is 16.200. Since their network sections are different why do they not need a router to communicate if their network id’s aren’t the same?

In: Technology

Answer 1

I wrote this 15 years ago, but it’s easy to understand.

[IP Subnetting Made Easy](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/ip-subnetting-made-easy-125343/)

Edit: Damn, they lost all my helpful pictures.