Is it possible to determine the network address using just an IP address and its subnet mask?

Determining the network address using an IP address and its corresponding subnet mask is indeed possible. The process involves a bitwise AND operation between the given IP address and the subnet mask. The subnet mask specifies which portion of the IP address represents the network and which part represents host addresses.

Here's how it works:

1. The IP address is represented in binary, where all bits are divided into two sections—the network part and the host part.

2. The subnet mask also appears in binary, with '1's indicating the network portion and '0's indicating the host portion.

3. When you perform the bitwise AND operation between the IP address and the subnet mask, you isolate the network portion, which gives you the network address.

For example, if you have an IP address of 192.168.1.10 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, the binary representation will help you find out that the network address is 192.168.1.0. This confirms that using just the IP address and its subnet mask, one can effectively identify the associated network address.