A startup is allocated the network block 172.16.0.0/16. They need to create exactly 8 equal-sized subnets to isolate different departments. What is the new subnet mask in dotted-decimal format?
Required subnets = 8
Borrowed bits = \(2^3 = 8\)
Original prefix =
/16New prefix =
/16 + 3 = /19
Answer: 255.255.224.0 (/19)