|  | 10.6 | Basics of Subnetting
| 10.6.6 | Performing the AND function

The lowest numbered address in an IP network is the network address (the network number plus 0 in the entire host field). This also applies to a subnet: the lowest numbered address is the address of the subnet.

| Lab Activity
| In this lab, you will learn the basics of IP subnet masks and their use with TCP/IP networks.

In order to route a data packet, the router must first determine the destination network/subnet address by performing a logical AND using the destination host's IP address and the subnet mask. The result will be the network/subnet address.

In the Figure, the router has received a packet for host 131.108.2.2 - it uses the AND operation to learn that this packet should be routed to subnet 131.108.2.0. The process of ANDing is explained in Lab 10.6.6.