Hi
Subinterfaces are very common in Routing and Switching, used in so many areas.
Subinterfaces most common areas:
- Vlan subinterfaces: we have a L2 or L3 (without routing) switch with multiple vlans, and need routing between them, so we use an External router connected to this switch with one port, this port has no IP address, then we creat Subinterfaces on this port on the router, each interface related to one of the Vlans, and any client in this vlan will have the Gateway is this subinterface IP address.
So one ports with multiple interfaces (different IP addresses) and the router can make routing between them - Router on Stick.
- Frame relay subinterfaces, its a flexible solution for routing various protocols over partially-meshed frame relay networks, so the Router's physical interface can be logically divided into multiple, virtual subinterfaces. The subinterface may be defined as either a point-to-point connection or a multipoint connection.
I hope thats enough info.
Good Luck !!!