Final answer:
The correct option is (3). A /26 subnet has 62 usable host addresses. This is calculated using the formula 2^6 - 2, accounting for 64 total addresses minus the network and broadcast addresses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The /26 subnet mask indicates that 26 bits are used for the network portion, leaving 6 bits for host addresses since an IPv4 address is a total of 32 bits. To calculate the number of hosts on a subnet, you use the formula 2n - 2, where 'n' is the number of bits left for the host portion of the address. In this case, n=6.
- 26 = 64 total addresses
- 64 total addresses - 2 = 62 usable host addresses
The subtraction of 2 accounts for the network address and the broadcast address, neither of which can be assigned to hosts,. Therefore, the correct answer to how many hosts are supported in a /26 subnet is 62.