IPv6, Internet Protocol version 6
Description Glossary RFCs Publications Obsolete RFCs

Description:

Protocol suite: TCP/IP.
Protocol type:Connectionless network layer protocol.
Ethertype:0x86DD.
PPP protocol:0x0057.
Related protocols: 0, 43, 44, 50, 51, MLD, 59, 60, Mobility Header.
MIME subtype:
SNMP MIBs: iso.org.dod.internet.mgmt.mib-2.ipv6MIB (1.3.6.1.2.1.55).
iso.org.dod.internet.mgmt.mib-2.ipv6FlowLabelMIB (1.3.6.1.2.1.103).
iso.org.dod.internet.experimental.ipv6UdpMIB (1.3.6.1.3.87).
Working groups: 6lowpan, IPv6 over Low power WPAN.
6man, IPv6 Maintenance.
addrconf, Address Autoconfiguration.
imss, Internet and Management Support for Storage.
ipv6, IP Version 6 Working Group.
mip6, Mobility for IPv6.
multi6, Site Multihoming in IPv6.
ngtrans, Next Generation Transition.
Links: IANA: address space.
IANA: anycast.
IANA: IPv6 multicast addresses.
IANA: multicast groups.
IANA: IPv6 parameters.
IANA: TLAs.
www.ipv6.org.

The design of IPv6 was greatly influenced by IP version 4.

Previously known as IPng or IP Next Generation.

MAC header IPv6 header Data :::

IPv6 header:

0001020304050607 0809101112131415 1617181920212223 2425262728293031
Version Traffic Class Flow Label
Payload Length Next Header Hop Limit
Source address :::
Destination address :::
Data :::

Version. 4 bits.
IPv6 version number.

Traffic Class. 8 bits.
Internet traffic priority delivery value.

Flow Label. 20 bits.
Used for specifying special router handling from source to destination(s) for a sequence of packets.

Payload Length. 16 bits unsigned.
Specifies the length of the data in the packet. When cleared to zero, the option is a hop-by-hop Jumbo payload.

Next Header. 8 bits.
Specifies the next encapsulated protocol. The values are compatible with those specified for the IPv4 protocol field.

Hop Limit. 8 bits unsigned.
For each router that forwards the packet, the hop limit is decremented by 1. When the hop limit field reaches zero, the packet is discarded. This replaces the TTL field in the IPv4 header that was originally intended to be used as a time based hop limit.

Source address. 16 bytes.
The IPv6 address of the sending node.

Destination address. 16 bytes.
The IPv6 address of the destination node.

Glossary:

Anycast.
(RFC 2461) An identifier for a set of interfaces. These interfaces typically belong 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 protocol's measure of distance). Note that an anycast address is syntactically indistinguishable from a unicast address. Thus, nodes sending packets to anycast addresses don't generally know that an anycast address is being used.

Deprecated address.
(RFC 1971) An address assigned to an interface whose use is discouraged, but not forbidden. A deprecated address should no longer be used as a source address in new communications, but packets sent to deprecated addresses are delivered as expected. A deprecated address may continue to be used as a source address in communications where switching to a preferred address causes hardship to a specific upper-layer activity (e.g., an existing TCP connection).

Flow.
(RFC 1981) A sequence of packets sent from a particular source to a particular (unicast or multicast) destination for which the source desires special handling by the intervening routers.

Flow ID.
(RFC 1981) A combination of a source address and a non-zero flow label.

Jumbogram.
(RFC 2675) An IPv6 packet containing a payload longer than 65,535 bytes. Jumbograms are relevant only to IPv6 nodes that may be attached to links with a link MTU greater than 65,575 bytes, and need not be implemented or understood by IPv6 nodes that do not support attachment to links with such large MTUs.

NLA, Next-Level Aggregation Identifier.

On-link.
An address that is assigned to an interface on a specified link.

Off-link.
An address that is not assigned to any interfaces on the specified link.

Path.
The set of links traversed by a packet between a source node and a destination node.

PMTU, Path MTU.
The minimum link MTU of all the links in a path between a source node and a destination node.

Preferred address.
(RFC 1971) An address assigned to an interface whose use by upper layer protocols is unrestricted. Preferred addresses may be used as the source (or destination) address of packets sent from (or to) the interface.

Proxy.
(RFC 2461) A router that responds to Neighbor Discovery query messages on behalf of another node. A router acting on behalf of a mobile node that has moved off-link could potentially act as a proxy for the mobile node.

SLA, Site-Level Aggregation Identifier.
This field is used by an individual organization to create its own local addressing hierarchy and to identify subnets. Assignment of the SLA ID field is the responsibility of each individual organization.

Tentative address.
(RFC 1971) An address whose uniqueness on a link is being verified, prior to its assignment to an interface. A tentative address is not considered assigned to an interface in the usual sense. An interface discards received packets addressed to a tentative address, but accepts Neighbor Discovery packets related to Duplicate Address Detection for the tentative address.

TLA, Top-Level Aggregation Identifier.

RFCs:

[RFC 1719] A Direction for IPng.

[RFC 1726] Technical Criteria for Choosing IP The Next Generation (IPng).

[RFC 1752] The Recommendation for the IP Next Generation Protocol.

[RFC 1809] Using the Flow Label Field in IPv6.

[RFC 1881] IPv6 Address Allocation Management.

[RFC 1887] An Architecture for IPv6 Unicast Address Allocation.

[RFC 1888] OSI NSAPs and IPv6.

[RFC 1981] Path MTU Discovery for IP version 6.

[RFC 2126] ISO Transport Service on top of TCP (ITOT).

[RFC 2170] Application REQuested IP over ATM (AREQUIPA).

[RFC 2185] Routing Aspects Of IPv6 Transition.

[RFC 2375] IPv6 Multicast Address Assignments.

[RFC 2450] Proposed TLA and NLA Assignment Rules.

[RFC 2460] Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification.

[RFC 2461] Neighbor Discovery for IP Version 6 (IPv6).

[RFC 2462] IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration.

[RFC 2464] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Ethernet Networks.

[RFC 2467] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over FDDI Networks.

[RFC 2470] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Token Ring Networks.

[RFC 2472] IP Version 6 over PPP.

[RFC 2473] Generic Packet Tunneling in IPv6 Specification.

[RFC 2474] Definition of the Differentiated Services Field (DS Field) in the IPv4 and IPv6 Headers.

[RFC 2475] An Architecture for Differentiated Services.

[RFC 2491] IPv6 over Non-Broadcast Multiple Access (NBMA) networks.

[RFC 2492] IPv6 over ATM Networks.

[RFC 2497] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over ARCnet Networks.

[RFC 2507] IP Header Compression.

[RFC 2508] Compressing IP/UDP/RTP Headers for Low-Speed Serial Links.

[RFC 2526] Reserved IPv6 Subnet Anycast Addresses.

[RFC 2529] Transmission of IPv6 over IPv4 Domains without Explicit Tunnels.

[RFC 2590] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Frame Relay Networks Specification.

[RFC 2675] IPv6 Jumbograms.

[RFC 2711] IPv6 Router Alert Option.

[RFC 2765] Stateless IP/ICMP Translation Algorithm (SIIT).

[RFC 2766] Network Address Translation - Protocol Translation (NAT-PT).

[RFC 2767] Dual Stack Hosts using the "Bump-In-the-Stack" Technique (BIS).

[RFC 2780] IANA Allocation Guidelines For Values In the Internet Protocol and Related Headers.

[RFC 2874] DNS Extensions to Support IPv6 Address Aggregation and Renumbering.

[RFC 2928] Initial IPv6 Sub-TLA ID Assignments.

[RFC 3041] Privacy Extensions for Stateless Address Autoconfiguration in IPv6.

[RFC 3053] IPv6 Tunnel Broker.

[RFC 3056] Connection of IPv6 Domains via IPv4 Clouds.

[RFC 3111] Service Location Protocol Modifications for IPv6.

[RFC 3142] An IPv6-to-IPv4 Transport Relay Translator.

[RFC 3146] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over IEEE 1394 Networks.

[RFC 3178] IPv6 Multihoming Support at Site Exit Routers.

[RFC 3306] Unicast-Prefix-based IPv6 Multicast Addresses.

[RFC 3307] Allocation Guidelines for IPv6 Multicast Addresses.

[RFC 3314] Recommendations for IPv6 in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Standards.

[RFC 3316] Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) for Some Second and Third Generation Cellular Hosts.

[RFC 3484] Default Address Selection for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6).

[RFC 3493] Basic Socket Interface Extensions for IPv6.

[RFC 3531] A Flexible Method for Managing the Assignment of Bits of an IPv6 Address Block.

[RFC 3542] Advanced Sockets Application Program Interface (API) for IPv6.

[RFC 3545] Enhanced Compressed RTP (CRTP) for Links with High Delay, Packet Loss and Reordering.

[RFC 3572] Internet Protocol Version 6 over MAPOS (Multiple Access Protocol Over SONET/SDH).

[RFC 3582] Goals for IPv6 Site-Multihoming Architectures.

[RFC 3587] IPv6 Global Unicast Address Format.

[RFC 3595] Textual Conventions for IPv6 Flow Label.

[RFC 3627] Use of /127 Prefix Length Between Routers Considered Harmful.

[RFC 3697] IPv6 Flow Label Specification.

[RFC 3736] Stateless Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Service for IPv6.

[RFC 3750] Unmanaged Networks IPv6 Transition Scenarios.

[RFC 3756] IPv6 Neighbor Discovery (ND) Trust Models and Threats.

[RFC 3769] Requirements for IPv6 Prefix Delegation.

[RFC 3849] IPv6 Address Prefix Reserved for Documentation.

[RFC 3879] Deprecating Site Local Addresses.

[RFC 3904] Evaluation of IPv6 Transition Mechanisms for Unmanaged Networks.

[RFC 3919] Remote Network Monitoring (RMON) Protocol Identifiers for IPv6 and Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS).

[RFC 3956] Embedding the Rendezvous Point (RP) Address in an IPv6 Multicast Address.

[RFC 3964] Security Considerations for 6to4.

[RFC 4007] IPv6 Scoped Address Architecture.

[RFC 4029] Scenarios and Analysis for Introducing IPv6 into ISP Networks.

[RFC 4038] Application Aspects of IPv6 Transition.

[RFC 4048] RFC 1888 Is Obsolete.

[RFC 4057] IPv6 Enterprise Network Scenarios.

[RFC 4113] Management Information Base for the User Datagram Protocol (UDP).

[RFC 4159] Deprecation of "ip6.int".

[RFC 4177] Architectural Approaches to Multi-homing for IPv6.

[RFC 4191] Default Router Preferences and More-Specific Routes.

[RFC 4193] Unique Local IPv6 Unicast Addresses.

[RFC 4213] Basic Transition Mechanisms for IPv6 Hosts and Routers.

[RFC 4215] Analysis on IPv6 Transition in Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Networks.

[RFC 4218] Threats Relating to IPv6 Multihoming Solutions.

[RFC 4219] Things Multihoming in IPv6 (MULTI6) Developers Should Think About.

[RFC 4291] IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture.

[RFC 4293] Management Information Base for the Internet Protocol (IP).

[RFC 4294] IPv6 Node Requirements.

[RFC 4301] Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol.

[RFC 4311] IPv6 Host-to-Router Load Sharing.

[RFC 4338] Transmission of IPv6, IPv4, and Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) Packets over Fibre Channel.

[RFC 4339] IPv6 Host Configuration of DNS Server Information Approaches.

[RFC 4391] Transmission of IP over InfiniBand (IPoIB).

[RFC 4392] IP over InfiniBand (IPoIB) Architecture.

[RFC 4413] TCP/IP Field Behavior.

[RFC 4429] Optimistic Duplicate Address Detection (DAD) for IPv6.

[RFC 4477] Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP): IPv4 and IPv6 Dual-Stack Issues.

[RFC 4489] A Method for Generating Link-Scoped IPv6 Multicast Addresses.

[RFC 5237] IANA Allocation Guidelines for the Protocol Field.

[RFC 5375] IPv6 Unicast Address Assignment Considerations.

Publications:

Obsolete RFCs:

[RFC 1883] Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification.

[RFC 1884] IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture.

[RFC 1897] IPv6 Testing Address Allocation.

[RFC 1933] Transition Mechanisms for IPv6 Hosts and Routers.

[RFC 1970] Neighbor Discovery for IP Version 6 (IPv6).

[RFC 1971] IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration.

[RFC 1972] A Method for the Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Ethernet Networks.

[RFC 2019] A Method for the Transmission of IPv6 Packets over FDDI Networks.

[RFC 2023] IP Version 6 over PPP.

[RFC 2073] An IPv6 Provider-Based Unicast Address Format.

[RFC 2133] Basic Socket Interface Extensions for IPv6.

[RFC 2147] TCP and UDP over IPv6 Jumbograms.

[RFC 2292] Advanced Sockets API for IPv6.

[RFC 2373] IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture.

[RFC 2374] An IPv6 Aggregatable Global Unicast Address Format.

[RFC 2401] Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol.

[RFC 2452] IP Version 6 Management Information Base for the Transmission Control Protocol.

[RFC 2454] IP Version 6 Management Information Base for the User Datagram Protocol.

[RFC 2465] Management Information Base for IP Version 6: Textual Conventions and General Group.

[RFC 2471] IPv6 Testing Address Allocation.

[RFC 2553] Basic Socket Interface Extensions for IPv6.

[RFC 2732] Format for Literal IPv6 Addresses in URL's.

[RFC 2893] Transition Mechanisms for IPv6 Hosts and Routers.

[RFC 3513] Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Addressing Architecture.

[RFC 3831] Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Fibre Channel.

Description Glossary RFCs Publications Obsolete RFCs