Editing Supernetwork (section)

{{Short description|Aggregation of Internet Protocol networks}}
{{Redirect|Supernet|the broadband network in the province of Alberta|Alberta SuperNet}}

[[File:Route Aggreation example-en.svg|thumb|500px|An example of route aggregation as a part of CIDR]]

A '''supernetwork''', or '''supernet''', is an [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) network that is formed by aggregation of multiple networks (or [[subnets]]) into a larger network. The new [[routing prefix]] for the aggregate network represents the constituent networks in a single [[routing table]] entry. The process of forming a supernet is called '''supernetting''', '''prefix aggregation''', '''route aggregation''', or '''route summarization'''.

Supernetting within the [[Internet]] serves as a strategy to avoid fragmentation of the [[IP address]] space by using a hierarchical allocation system that delegates control of segments of address space to [[regional Internet registries]].<ref>RFC 1338, ''Supernetting: an Address Assignment and Aggregation Strategy'', V. Fuller, T. Li, J. Yu, K. Varadhan (June 1992)</ref> This method facilitates regional route aggregation.

The benefits of supernetting are efficiencies gained in [[Router (computing)|router]]s in terms of memory storage of route information and processing overhead when matching routes. Supernetting, however, can introduce interoperability issues and other risks.<ref name=Le2011/>