IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture
RFC 4291
Document | Type |
RFC - Draft Standard
(February 2006; Errata)
Obsoletes RFC 3513
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Authors | Steve Deering , Bob Hinden | ||
Last updated | 2020-01-21 | ||
Stream | Internent Engineering Task Force (IETF) | ||
Formats | plain text html pdf htmlized (tools) htmlized with errata bibtex | ||
Stream | WG state | (None) | |
Document shepherd | No shepherd assigned | ||
IESG | IESG state | RFC 4291 (Draft Standard) | |
Action Holders |
(None)
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||
Consensus Boilerplate | Unknown | ||
Telechat date | |||
Responsible AD | Margaret Cullen | ||
Send notices to | (None) |
Network Working Group R. Hinden Request for Comments: 4291 Nokia Obsoletes: 3513 S. Deering Category: Standards Track Cisco Systems February 2006 IP Version 6 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 (2006). 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. This document obsoletes RFC 3513, "IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture". Hinden Standards Track [Page 1] RFC 4291 IPv6 Addressing Architecture February 2006 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................2 2. IPv6 Addressing .................................................2 2.1. Addressing Model ...........................................3 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 ..........................................6 2.5.1. Interface Identifiers ...............................7 2.5.2. The Unspecified Address .............................9 2.5.3. The Loopback Address ................................9 2.5.4. Global Unicast Addresses ............................9 2.5.5. IPv6 Addresses with Embedded IPv4 Addresses ........10 2.5.6. Link-Local IPv6 Unicast Addresses ..................11 2.5.7. Site-Local IPv6 Unicast Addresses ..................11 2.6. Anycast Addresses .........................................12 2.6.1. Required Anycast Address ...........................12 2.7. Multicast Addresses .......................................13 2.7.1. Pre-Defined Multicast Addresses ....................15 2.8. A Node's Required Addresses ...............................17 3. Security Considerations ........................................18 4. IANA Considerations ............................................18 5. Acknowledgements ...............................................18 6. References .....................................................18 6.1. Normative References ......................................18 6.2. Informative References ....................................18 Appendix A: Creating Modified EUI-64 Format Interface Identifiers .20 Appendix B: Changes from RFC 3513 .................................22 1. Introduction This specification defines the addressing architecture of the IP Version 6 protocol. It includes the basic formats for the various types of IPv6 addresses (unicast, anycast, and multicast). 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. Hinden Standards Track [Page 2] RFC 4291 IPv6 Addressing Architecture February 2006 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). Multicast: An identifier for a set of interfaces (typically belonging to different nodes). A packet sent to a multicast address is delivered to all interfaces identified by that address. There are no broadcast addresses in IPv6, their function being superseded by multicast addresses. In this document, fields in addresses are given a specific name, for example, "subnet". When this name is used with the term "ID" forShow full document text