What is the dotted decimal equivalent of a /28 prefix length?

A /28 prefix length indicates that the first 28 bits of an IP address are used for the network portion, while the remaining 4 bits are used for host addresses. To determine the dotted decimal equivalent, you need to convert the subnet mask from its binary representation to decimal format.

In binary, a /28 subnet mask looks like this:

11111111.11111111.11111111.11110000

Breaking it down:

• The first three octets (11111111) convert to 255 in decimal.

• The last octet (11110000) translates to 240 in decimal because:

• 2^7 = 128

• 2^6 = 64

• 2^5 = 32

• 2^4 = 16

• Adding these gives 128 + 64 + 32 + 16 = 240.

Putting it all together, the dotted decimal representation for a /28 prefix length is: 255.255.255.240.

This is why the correct answer is the dotted decimal equivalent of a /28 prefix length.