Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Addressing Architecture
RFC 3513
| Document | Type |
RFC - Proposed Standard
(April 2003; No errata)
Obsoleted by RFC 4291
Obsoletes RFC 2373
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Last updated | 2015-10-14 | ||
| Stream | IETF | ||
| Formats | plain text pdf html bibtex | ||
| Stream | WG state | (None) | |
| Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
| IESG | IESG state | RFC 3513 (Proposed Standard) | |
| Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
| Telechat date | |||
| Responsible AD | Thomas Narten | ||
| IESG note | published as RFC 3513 | ||
| Send notices to | <mrw@windriver.com> | ||
Network Working Group R. Hinden
Request for Comments: 3513 Nokia
Obsoletes: 2373 S. Deering
Category: Standards Track Cisco Systems
April 2003
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Addressing Architecture
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This specification defines the addressing architecture of the IP
Version 6 (IPv6) protocol. The document includes the IPv6 addressing
model, text representations of IPv6 addresses, definition of IPv6
unicast addresses, anycast addresses, and multicast addresses, and an
IPv6 node's required addresses.
Hinden & Deering Standards Track [Page 1]
RFC 3513 IPv6 Addressing Architecture April 2003
Table of Contents
1. Introduction.................................................3
2. IPv6 Addressing..............................................3
2.1 Addressing Model.........................................4
2.2 Text Representation of Addresses.........................4
2.3 Text Representation of Address Prefixes..................5
2.4 Address Type Identification..............................6
2.5 Unicast Addresses........................................7
2.5.1 Interface Identifiers..............................8
2.5.2 The Unspecified Address............................9
2.5.3 The Loopback Address...............................9
2.5.4 Global Unicast Addresses..........................10
2.5.5 IPv6 Addresses with Embedded IPv4 Addresses.......10
2.5.6 Local-use IPv6 Unicast Addresses..................11
2.6 Anycast Addresses.......................................12
2.6.1 Required Anycast Address..........................13
2.7 Multicast Addresses.....................................13
2.7.1 Pre-Defined Multicast Addresses...................15
2.8 A Node's Required Addresses.............................17
3. Security Considerations.....................................17
4. IANA Considerations.........................................18
5. References..................................................19
5.1 Normative References....................................19
5.2 Informative References..................................19
APPENDIX A: Creating Modified EUI-64 format Interface IDs......21
APPENDIX B: Changes from RFC-2373..............................24
Authors' Addresses.............................................25
Full Copyright Statement.......................................26
Hinden & Deering Standards Track [Page 2]
RFC 3513 IPv6 Addressing Architecture April 2003
1. Introduction
This specification defines the addressing architecture of the IP
Version 6 (IPv6) protocol. It includes the basic formats for the
various types of IPv6 addresses (unicast, anycast, and multicast).
The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Paul
Francis, Scott Bradner, Jim Bound, Brian Carpenter, Matt Crawford,
Deborah Estrin, Roger Fajman, Bob Fink, Peter Ford, Bob Gilligan,
Dimitry Haskin, Tom Harsch, Christian Huitema, Tony Li, Greg
Minshall, Thomas Narten, Erik Nordmark, Yakov Rekhter, Bill Simpson,
Sue Thomson, Markku Savela, and Larry Masinter.
2. IPv6 Addressing
IPv6 addresses are 128-bit identifiers for interfaces and sets of
interfaces (where "interface" is as defined in section 2 of [IPV6]).
There are three types of addresses:
Unicast: An identifier for a single interface. A packet sent to a
unicast address is delivered to the interface identified
by that address.
Anycast: An identifier for a set of interfaces (typically belonging
to different nodes). A packet sent to an anycast address
is delivered to one of the interfaces identified by that
address (the "nearest" one, according to the routing
protocols' measure of distance).
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