Subnetting becomes much easier when you stop treating it like memorization and instead break it into steps. Start by identifying the prefix, then determine the number of hosts, and finally check the network and broadcast addresses.

A short method

1. Read the prefix length.
2. Convert that prefix into the number of host bits.
3. Calculate total addresses and usable hosts.
4. Verify the boundaries.

Example mindset

For 192.168.10.0/24, you should immediately think about 256 total addresses and 254 usable hosts.