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Wikipedia defines CIDR notation as:
"CIDR notation is a compact representation of an IP address and its associated routing prefix. The notation is constructed from the IP address and the prefix size, the latter being equivalent to the number of leading 1 bits in the routing prefix mask. The IP address is expressed according to the standards of IPv4 or IPv6. It is followed by a separator character, the slash ('/') character, and the prefix size expressed as a decimal number."
Basically it's a handy way to identify or select entire blocks of IP addresses by octet.
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