New — Animated
Packet Walk 2.0
Follow one packet hop by hop in four animated scenarios — same-subnet delivery, a single-router gateway path, a two-router WAN trip, and the return reply. The glowing cube is the packet; the readout below shows the exact Layer 2 and Layer 3 headers on every segment. Prefer the step-by-step drill with quiz mode? Use the classic Packet Walk.
Packet journeyForward01 / 10
Host decision
PC-A decides: same subnet
PC-A (192.168.10.10/24) needs 192.168.10.50. ANDing both addresses with /24 gives the same network — 192.168.10.0 — so no router is needed. Deliver locally at Layer 2.
Remember: A different subnet would send to the default gateway — not this case.
What the device sees
192.168.10.50 & 255.255.255.0
→ 192.168.10.0 = own network
→ deliver direct at Layer 2
The host ANDs the destination with its own subnet mask to pick local delivery or the default gateway.