Final answer:
Subnetting is the process of dividing a network into smaller subnetworks using a subnet mask to distinguish between the network and host parts of an IP address.
Step-by-step explanation:
In computer networking, the process of dividing a network into smaller subnetworks is known as subnetting. Subnetting allows for the efficient use of IP addresses by separating the network part and the host part of an IP address. This is done using a subnet mask, which is a 32-bit binary number that distinguishes between the network and host parts.
For example, consider the IP address 192.168.1.0 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. The first three octets (192.168.1) represent the network part, and the last octet (0) represents the host part. The subnet mask with all ones in the network part and all zeros in the host part helps identify the boundaries of the subnets.