IPv6

Introduction to IPv6
• IPv6 is 128 bit address written down using
hexadecimal.
• Grouped in 8 blocks of 4 digits, Separated by
colons.
• An IPv6 address is divided into a network
portion and a local portion.

– 1203:0c00:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001/64
 Addressing Format
• Total 128 bits address length (32 bit IPv4)
• Eight Hexadecimal numbers
• Numbers are separated by (:)
• Hex numbers are not case sensitive
• Like IPv4 prefix length is also attached to IPv6
– 1203:0c00:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001/64

• Abbreviations are possible

– Leading zeros in contiguous block is represented by (::)

Note: Double colon only appears once in the address

IPv6 Addressing Structure

Local Portion can

also be divided

1203:0c00:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001/64
 Shortening IPv6 Addresses
Example1:
Represented as eight hexadecimal numbers divided by colons
1203:0c00:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001
Drop any leading zeros
1203: c00 :0 :0 :0 :0 :0 :1
zeros condensed by double colons (*only once)
1203:c00::1

Example2:
1203:0C00:0000:0131:0000:0000:0000:0156
?
 Types of IPv6 Addresses
• Unicast
– One-to-one delivery. Address of a single interface.
– IPv6 has several types (eg. Global, reserved, link-local, and
Unique-local)

• Multicast
– One-to-many delivery; Packet is sent to multiple interfaces

• Anycast (new)
– One-to-nearest (in terms of routing distance)
– Packet is sent to the nearest of group interfaces

No broadcast addresses
 Multicast IPv6 Addresses
• Multicast IPv6 addresses are the equivalent of
IPv4 multicast addresses.
• Interfaces can belong to one or more
multicast groups.
• Interfaces will accept a multicast packet only if
they belong to that group.
• The first field of a multicast IPv6 address will
always begin FFxx
– prefix FF00::/8
 Link-local IPv6 addresses
• Link-local addresses are unicasts.
• Automatically assigned by Router as soon as IPv6 is enabled.
• Can be manually assigned, or auto-configured.
• link local address are used for behind the scene functionality.
• Used only for communication on local link.
• Not routable beyond local link ie. Any packet that contains a
link-local source or destination address is never routed to
another link.
• Used for neighbor discovery.
• Mandatory Address for Communication between two IPv6 device
• (like ARP but at Layer 3)
• Every IPv6-enabled interface on a host (or router) is assigned a link-
local address.
• The first field of a link-local IPv6 address will always begin FE8x
• (Prefix= FE80::/10)
 Global IPv6 addresses
• Global IPv6 addresses are the equivalent of
“public” IPv4 addresses.
• Currently the first field of an aggregate global
IPv6 address will always begin 2xxx.
– 2000::/3
 Unique Local
• Unique local addresses work like the IPv4
private addresses.
• Used for Local communications
• Not routable on the Internet

The FC00::/7 prefix is reserved for unique local

addresses.
(note: however when implement this you have to set the L-bit to 1 which means that the first two digits will be FD.)
 Special IPv6 Addresses
• The first field of a reserved or special IPv6
address will always begin 00xx
• ::/0 –It is the equivalent of the IPv4 0.0.0.0
address
– Used to configure default static route
• ::1/128 – is the loopback or localhost address.
It is the equivalent of the IPv4 127.0.0.1/8.
 ICMPv6
• ICMP Version 6 (ICMPv6) is a core component
of IPv6.
• ICMPv6 provides many services, including (but
not limited to):
– Error Messages
– Informational messages (echo replies for IPv6
ping)
– MTU Path Discovery
– Neighbor Discovery
Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP)
One of the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 is that we don’t use ARP
(Address Resolution Protocol) anymore.

NDP (Neighbor Discovery Protocol) will replace the functionality of ARP.

NDP uses ICMP and solicited node multicast addresses to discover the layer 2
address of other IPv6 hosts the same network (local link).

The NDP provides a multitude of services for IPv6 enabled devices, including:
• •Automatic address configuration, and prefix discovery
• •Duplicate address detection (DAD)
• •MTU discovery
• •Router discovery
• •Address resolution
 NDP
• IPv6 NDP uses 5 ICMPv6 messages types (type
133 through 137) for the neighbor discovery
mechanism.

1. Router Advertisement (RA)

2. Router Solicitation (RS)
3. Neighbor Solicitation (NS)
4. Neighbor Advertisements (NA)
5. Redirect
 IPv6 Address Assignment
• Hosts can be assigned IPv6 addresses one of two
ways:
1. manually,
2. using autoconfiguration.

• Two types of autoconfiguration:

1. stateless (SLAAC)
2. stateful.
 Stateless Address AutoConfiguration-
SLAAC
• When using Stateless Autoconfiguration, a host
first assigns itself a linklocal IPv6 address.
• It accomplishes this by combining the link-local
prefix (FE8) with its interface ID (MAC address in
EUI-64 format).
• The host sends a Router Solicitation multicast to
the all-routers multicast address, which provides
one or more network prefixes.
• The host combines these prefixes with its
interface ID to create its site-local (or aggregate
global) IPv6 addresses.
 EUI-64 (Extended Unique Identifier)
• EUI-64 (Extended Unique Identifier) is a method we can use
to automatically configure IPv6 host addresses. An IPv6 device
will use the MAC address of its interface to generate a unique
64-bit interface ID.
– The MAC address and split it into two pieces.
– “FFFE” is inserted in between the two pieces so that we
have a 64 bit value.
– 7th bit of the interface ID is inverted.
 Stateful Autoconfiguration
• Stateful Autoconfiguration utilizes DHCPv6 to
provide IPv6 address and additional
information to the host.
 IPv6 Autoconfiguration
• Stateless mechanism
– For a site not concerned with the exact addresses
– No manual configuration required
– Minimal configuration of routers
– No additional servers

• Stateful mechanism
– For a site that requires tighter control over exact address assignments
– Needs a DHCP server
– DHCPv6
 IPv6 DHCPv6 Prefix Delegation
• The prefix delegation feature lets a DHCP server assign
prefixes chosen from a global pool to DHCP clients.
• The DHCP client can then configure an IPv6 address on
its LAN interface using the prefix it received.
• It will then send router advertisements including the
prefix, allowing other devices to use autoconfiguration
to configure their own IPv6 addresses.
• Host devices are then able to configure their own IPv6
address using the prefix in the router advertisement
and EUI-64.
Thank you
AFROZ ALAM
 RA parameters (A, M, O)
• The “Managed address configuration” flag (M). When set, this flag
indicates that IPv6 addresses are available via DHCPv6.

• The “Other configuration” flag (O). When set, this flag indicates that
other configuration information, like DNS-related one, is available
via DHCPv6.

• The “Autonomous address configuration” (A) flag. When set, this

flag indicates that this prefix can be used for stateless address
autoconfiguration, as specified in [3]

– https://www.ernw.de/download/ERNW_Whitepaper_IPv6_RAs_RDNS
S_DHCPv6_Conflicting_Parameters.pdf
• • Stateful—Address assignment is centrally
managed and clients must obtain configuration
information that is not available through
protocols such as address autoconfiguration and
neighbor discovery.
• • Stateless—Stateless configuration parameters
do not require a server to maintain any dynamic
state for individual clients, such as Domain Name
System (DNS) server addresses and domain
search list options.
• DUID (DHCPv6 Unique Identifier) As the name implies the DUID stands for
DHCPv6 Unique Identifier which is used to identify the device when exchanging
DHCPv6 messages. The DHCPv6 clients and servers are identified by this DUID.
Therefore this DUID is unique across all DHCP clients and servers, and it is stable
for any specific client or server. The DUID is carried under options field because
the length could be variable but strictly a DUID cannot longer than 128 octets.
– In Cisco routers, the DUID can be checked by using the command show ipv6 dhcp
– Router1# show ipv6 dhcp This device's DHCPv6 unique identifier(DUID):
00050002001EBE4A7BE0
– DHCPv6 forms the DUID using MAC address from the lowest-numbered interface by assuming
that the network interface is permanently attached to the device.Cisco uses structure based
on DUID-LLT i.e.Link-Local Address plus time.
• IAID (Identity Association) IAID is Identity Association for binding. It a 32 bit value
assigned by the client. Binding contains configuration information that is explicitly
assigned to the client and is indexed by DUID.

• (https://community.cisco.com/t5/network-architecture-blogs/implementing-dhcpv6-an-
introduction/ba-p/3106104 )
• https://community.cisco.com/t5/network-architecture-
videos/ipv6-security-video-from-live-webcast/ba-
p/3103222
• https://community.cisco.com/t5/network-architecture-
videos/service-provider-ipv6-deployment-video-from-
live-webcast/ba-p/3103158
• https://community.cisco.com/t5/network-architecture-
videos/webcast-video-ipv6-transition-and-
deployment/ba-p/3098276
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfN8yTzxuTQ