Field guide The workbench

Practice / Local tools

The workbench

Turn networking concepts into answers. No probes, accounts or network access required.

5 min read Practical fundamentals

ADDRESS PLANNING / REAL CALCULATIONS

Subnet & CIDR calculator

Find the network boundary, address range and size of an IPv4 or IPv6 prefix. Calculations stay on this server; no traffic is sent to the address.

Try 192.168.10.42/24 or 2001:db8::/64. Host addresses are normalised to the network prefix.

01

Choose the right diagnostic tool

These commands are references for your own terminal. This website does not execute them or contact a target.

  • Wireshark — inspect packets captured on an authorised interface.
  • tcpdump — capture traffic with a small, explicit filter.
  • Nmap — discover hosts and services only on networks you are authorised to assess.
  • iperf3 — compare throughput between endpoints you control.
02

Read the result in context

A tool gives you an observation, not a diagnosis. Check the transport, endpoint and assumptions before drawing a conclusion.

  • A timeout may be caused by filtering, rate limiting or a return-path issue.
  • A listening port says little about application correctness.
  • A public DNS answer can differ from an internal answer.
  • Keep outputs free of credentials and personal information when sharing them.
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