What is "supernetwork"

n. A network of networks

A supernetwork, or supernet, is an Internet Protocol (IP) network that is formed from the combination of two or more networks (or subnets) with a common Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) prefix. The new routing prefix for the combined network aggregates the prefixes of the constituent networks. It must not contain other prefixes of networks that do not lie in the same routing path. The process of forming a supernet is often called supernetting, prefix aggregation, route aggregation, or route summarization.

Supernetting within the Internet serves as a preventive strategy to avoid topological fragmentation of the IP address space by using a hierarchical allocation system that delegates control of segments of address space to regional network service providers. This method facilitates regional route aggregation.

The benefits of supernetting are conservation of address space and efficiencies gained in routers in terms of memory storage of route information and processing overhead when matching routes. Supernetting, however, has risks.