Ever wondered why a single /25 privacy range in your IP dataset suddenly explodes into multiple CIDRs once you add location data?
It’s not a bug — it’s a natural side effect of metadata alignment.
The Chocolate Bar Analogy
Think of your privacy dataset as a big chocolate bar:
198.51.100.0/25
Privacy: is_hosting = true
When it’s just privacy data, the whole /25 can be one smooth block.
Now, you add location data… and suddenly, part of that /25 belongs to New York, part to Boston, and part to Toronto.
That’s like cutting your chocolate bar into different pieces depending on flavor:
-
US, New York → /26 -
US, Boston → /27 -
CA, Toronto → /27
Why Subnet Masks Change
The new subnet boundaries aren’t chosen for “pretty” CIDR math.
They’re dictated by where the location changes occur in the IP space.
Location changes rarely line up perfectly with your existing /25 or /24 boundaries, so you end up with mixed masks like /26, /27, /28.
Key takeaway: When combining datasets, every unique combination of metadata (privacy + location) needs its own IP range.
This often means fragmentation — and it’s why your neat /25 sometimes turns into a collection of different-sized CIDRs.