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Network Working Group                                        R. Hinden
Request for Comments: 2373                                       Nokia
Obsoletes: 1884                                             S. Deering
Category: Standards Track                                Cisco Systems
                                                             July 1998

                  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 (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This specification defines the addressing architecture of the IP
   Version 6 protocol [IPV6].  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.

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction.................................................2
   2. IPv6 Addressing..............................................2
      2.1 Addressing Model.........................................3
      2.2 Text Representation of Addresses.........................3
      2.3 Text Representation of Address Prefixes..................5
      2.4 Address Type Representation..............................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 IPv6 Addresses with Embedded IPv4 Addresses.........10
        2.5.5 NSAP Addresses......................................10
        2.5.6 IPX Addresses.......................................10
        2.5.7 Aggregatable Global Unicast Addresses...............11
        2.5.8 Local-use IPv6 Unicast Addresses....................11
      2.6 Anycast Addresses.......................................12
        2.6.1 Required Anycast Address............................13
      2.7 Multicast Addresses.....................................14



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        2.7.1 Pre-Defined Multicast Addresses.....................15
        2.7.2 Assignment of New IPv6 Multicast Addresses..........17
      2.8 A Node's Required Addresses.............................17
   3. Security Considerations.....................................18
   APPENDIX A: Creating EUI-64 based Interface Identifiers........19
   APPENDIX B: ABNF Description of Text Representations...........22
   APPENDIX C: CHANGES FROM RFC-1884..............................23
   REFERENCES.....................................................24
   AUTHORS' ADDRESSES.............................................25
   FULL COPYRIGHT STATEMENT.......................................26


1.0 INTRODUCTION

   This specification defines the addressing architecture of the IP
   Version 6 protocol.  It includes a detailed description of the
   currently defined address formats for IPv6 [IPV6].

   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,
   and Sue Thomson.

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC 2119].

2.0 IPv6 ADDRESSING

   IPv6 addresses are 128-bit identifiers for interfaces and sets of
   interfaces.  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).

     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.



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   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 "subscriber".  When this name is used with the term "ID" for
   identifier after the name (e.g., "subscriber ID"), it refers to the
   contents of the named field.  When it is used with the term "prefix"
   (e.g.  "subscriber prefix") it refers to all of the address up to and
   including this field.

   In IPv6, all zeros and all ones are legal values for any field,
   unless specifically excluded.  Specifically, prefixes may contain
   zero-valued fields or end in zeros.

2.1 Addressing Model

   IPv6 addresses of all types are assigned to interfaces, not nodes.
   An IPv6 unicast address refers to a single interface.  Since each
   interface belongs to a single node, any of that node's interfaces'
   unicast addresses may be used as an identifier for the node.

   All interfaces are required to have at least one link-local unicast
   address (see section 2.8 for additional required addresses).  A
   single interface may also be assigned multiple IPv6 addresses of any
   type (unicast, anycast, and multicast) or scope.  Unicast addresses
   with scope greater than link-scope are not needed for interfaces that
   are not used as the origin or destination of any IPv6 packets to or
   from non-neighbors.  This is sometimes convenient for point-to-point
   interfaces.  There is one exception to this addressing model:

     An unicast address or a set of unicast addresses may be assigned to
     multiple physical interfaces if the implementation treats the
     multiple physical interfaces as one interface when presenting it to
     the internet layer.  This is useful for load-sharing over multiple
     physical interfaces.

   Currently IPv6 continues the IPv4 model that a subnet prefix is
   associated with one link.  Multiple subnet prefixes may be assigned
   to the same link.

2.2 Text Representation of Addresses

   There are three conventional forms for representing IPv6 addresses as
   text strings:

   1. The preferred form is x:x:x:x:x:x:x:x, where the 'x's are the
      hexadecimal values of the eight 16-bit pieces of the address.
      Examples:



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         FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210

         1080:0:0:0:8:800:200C:417A

      Note that it is not necessary to write the leading zeros in an
      individual field, but there must be at least one numeral in every
      field (except for the case described in 2.).

   2. Due to some methods of allocating certain styles of IPv6
      addresses, it will be common for addresses to contain long strings
      of zero bits.  In order to make writing addresses containing zero
      bits easier a special syntax is available to compress the zeros.
      The use of "::" indicates multiple groups of 16-bits of zeros.
      The "::" can only appear once in an address.  The "::" can also be
      used to compress the leading and/or trailing zeros in an address.

      For example the following addresses:

         1080:0:0:0:8:800:200C:417A  a unicast address
         FF01:0:0:0:0:0:0:101        a multicast address
         0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1             the loopback address
         0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0             the unspecified addresses

      may be represented as:

         1080::8:800:200C:417A       a unicast address
         FF01::101                   a multicast address
         ::1                         the loopback address
         ::                          the unspecified addresses

   3. An alternative form that is sometimes more convenient when dealing
      with a mixed environment of IPv4 and IPv6 nodes is
      x:x:x:x:x:x:d.d.d.d, where the 'x's are the hexadecimal values of
      the six high-order 16-bit pieces of the address, and the 'd's are
      the decimal values of the four low-order 8-bit pieces of the
      address (standard IPv4 representation).  Examples:

         0:0:0:0:0:0:13.1.68.3

         0:0:0:0:0:FFFF:129.144.52.38

      or in compressed form:

         ::13.1.68.3

         ::FFFF:129.144.52.38





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2.3 Text Representation of Address Prefixes

   The text representation of IPv6 address prefixes is similar to the
   way IPv4 addresses prefixes are written in CIDR notation.  An IPv6
   address prefix is represented by the notation:

      ipv6-address/prefix-length

   where

      ipv6-address    is an IPv6 address in any of the notations listed
                      in section 2.2.

      prefix-length   is a decimal value specifying how many of the
                      leftmost contiguous bits of the address comprise
                      the prefix.

   For example, the following are legal representations of the 60-bit
   prefix 12AB00000000CD3 (hexadecimal):

      12AB:0000:0000:CD30:0000:0000:0000:0000/60
      12AB::CD30:0:0:0:0/60
      12AB:0:0:CD30::/60

   The following are NOT legal representations of the above prefix:

      12AB:0:0:CD3/60   may drop leading zeros, but not trailing zeros,
                        within any 16-bit chunk of the address

      12AB::CD30/60     address to left of "/" expands to
                        12AB:0000:0000:0000:0000:000:0000:CD30

      12AB::CD3/60      address to left of "/" expands to
                        12AB:0000:0000:0000:0000:000:0000:0CD3

   When writing both a node address and a prefix of that node address
   (e.g., the node's subnet prefix), the two can combined as follows:

      the node address      12AB:0:0:CD30:123:4567:89AB:CDEF
      and its subnet number 12AB:0:0:CD30::/60

      can be abbreviated as 12AB:0:0:CD30:123:4567:89AB:CDEF/60









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2.4 Address Type Representation

   The specific type of an IPv6 address is indicated by the leading bits
   in the address.  The variable-length field comprising these leading
   bits is called the Format Prefix (FP).  The initial allocation of
   these prefixes is as follows:

    Allocation                            Prefix         Fraction of
                                          (binary)       Address Space
    -----------------------------------   --------       -------------
    Reserved                              0000 0000      1/256
    Unassigned                            0000 0001      1/256

    Reserved for NSAP Allocation          0000 001       1/128
    Reserved for IPX Allocation           0000 010       1/128

    Unassigned                            0000 011       1/128
    Unassigned                            0000 1         1/32
    Unassigned                            0001           1/16

    Aggregatable Global Unicast Addresses 001            1/8
    Unassigned                            010            1/8
    Unassigned                            011            1/8
    Unassigned                            100            1/8
    Unassigned                            101            1/8
    Unassigned                            110            1/8

    Unassigned                            1110           1/16
    Unassigned                            1111 0         1/32
    Unassigned                            1111 10        1/64
    Unassigned                            1111 110       1/128
    Unassigned                            1111 1110 0    1/512

    Link-Local Unicast Addresses          1111 1110 10   1/1024
    Site-Local Unicast Addresses          1111 1110 11   1/1024

    Multicast Addresses                   1111 1111      1/256

    Notes:

      (1) The "unspecified address" (see section 2.5.2), the loopback
          address (see section 2.5.3), and the IPv6 Addresses with
          Embedded IPv4 Addresses (see section 2.5.4), are assigned out
          of the 0000 0000 format prefix space.







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      (2) The format prefixes 001 through 111, except for Multicast
          Addresses (1111 1111), are all required to have to have 64-bit
          interface identifiers in EUI-64 format.  See section 2.5.1 for
          definitions.

   This allocation supports the direct allocation of aggregation
   addresses, local use addresses, and multicast addresses.  Space is
   reserved for NSAP addresses and IPX addresses.  The remainder of the
   address space is unassigned for future use.  This can be used for
   expansion of existing use (e.g., additional aggregatable addresses,
   etc.) or new uses (e.g., separate locators and identifiers).  Fifteen
   percent of the address space is initially allocated.  The remaining
   85% is reserved for future use.

   Unicast addresses are distinguished from multicast addresses by the
   value of the high-order octet of the addresses: a value of FF
   (11111111) identifies an address as a multicast address; any other
   value identifies an address as a unicast address.  Anycast addresses
   are taken from the unicast address space, and are not syntactically
   distinguishable from unicast addresses.

2.5 Unicast Addresses

   IPv6 unicast addresses are aggregatable with contiguous bit-wise
   masks similar to IPv4 addresses under Class-less Interdomain Routing
   [CIDR].

   There are several forms of unicast address assignment in IPv6,
   including the global aggregatable global unicast address, the NSAP
   address, the IPX hierarchical address, the site-local address, the
   link-local address, and the IPv4-capable host address.  Additional
   address types can be defined in the future.

   IPv6 nodes may have considerable or little knowledge of the internal
   structure of the IPv6 address, depending on the role the node plays
   (for instance, host versus router).  At a minimum, a node may
   consider that unicast addresses (including its own) have no internal
   structure:

   |                           128 bits                              |
   +-----------------------------------------------------------------+
   |                          node address                           |
   +-----------------------------------------------------------------+

   A slightly sophisticated host (but still rather simple) may
   additionally be aware of subnet prefix(es) for the link(s) it is
   attached to, where different addresses may have different values for
   n:



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   |                         n bits                 |   128-n bits   |
   +------------------------------------------------+----------------+
   |                   subnet prefix                | interface ID   |
   +------------------------------------------------+----------------+

   Still more sophisticated hosts may be aware of other hierarchical
   boundaries in the unicast address.  Though a very simple router may
   have no knowledge of the internal structure of IPv6 unicast
   addresses, routers will more generally have knowledge of one or more
   of the hierarchical boundaries for the operation of routing
   protocols.  The known boundaries will differ from router to router,
   depending on what positions the router holds in the routing
   hierarchy.

2.5.1 Interface Identifiers

   Interface identifiers in IPv6 unicast addresses are used to identify
   interfaces on a link.  They are required to be unique on that link.
   They may also be unique over a broader scope.  In many cases an
   interface's identifier will be the same as that interface's link-
   layer address.  The same interface identifier may be used on multiple
   interfaces on a single node.

   Note that the use of the same interface identifier on multiple
   interfaces of a single node does not affect the interface
   identifier's global uniqueness or each IPv6 addresses global
   uniqueness created using that interface identifier.

   In a number of the format prefixes (see section 2.4) Interface IDs
   are required to be 64 bits long and to be constructed in IEEE EUI-64
   format [EUI64].  EUI-64 based Interface identifiers may have global
   scope when a global token is available (e.g., IEEE 48bit MAC) or may
   have local scope where a global token is not available (e.g., serial
   links, tunnel end-points, etc.).  It is required that the "u" bit
   (universal/local bit in IEEE EUI-64 terminology) be inverted when
   forming the interface identifier from the EUI-64.  The "u" bit is set
   to one (1) to indicate global scope, and it is set to zero (0) to
   indicate local scope.  The first three octets in binary of an EUI-64
   identifier are as follows:

       0       0 0       1 1       2
      |0       7 8       5 6       3|
      +----+----+----+----+----+----+
      |cccc|ccug|cccc|cccc|cccc|cccc|
      +----+----+----+----+----+----+






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   written in Internet standard bit-order , where "u" is the
   universal/local bit, "g" is the individual/group bit, and "c" are the
   bits of the company_id.  Appendix A: "Creating EUI-64 based Interface
   Identifiers" provides examples on the creation of different EUI-64
   based interface identifiers.

   The motivation for inverting the "u" bit when forming the interface
   identifier is to make it easy for system administrators to hand
   configure local scope identifiers when hardware tokens are not
   available.  This is expected to be case for serial links, tunnel end-
   points, etc.  The alternative would have been for these to be of the
   form 0200:0:0:1, 0200:0:0:2, etc., instead of the much simpler ::1,
   ::2, etc.

   The use of the universal/local bit in the IEEE EUI-64 identifier is
   to allow development of future technology that can take advantage of
   interface identifiers with global scope.

   The details of forming interface identifiers are defined in the
   appropriate "IPv6 over <link>" specification such as "IPv6 over
   Ethernet" [ETHER], "IPv6 over FDDI" [FDDI], etc.

2.5.2 The Unspecified Address

   The address 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:0 is called the unspecified address.  It
   must never be assigned to any node.  It indicates the absence of an
   address.  One example of its use is in the Source Address field of
   any IPv6 packets sent by an initializing host before it has learned
   its own address.

   The unspecified address must not be used as the destination address
   of IPv6 packets or in IPv6 Routing Headers.

2.5.3 The Loopback Address

   The unicast address 0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1 is called the loopback address.
   It may be used by a node to send an IPv6 packet to itself.  It may
   never be assigned to any physical interface.  It may be thought of as
   being associated with a virtual interface (e.g., the loopback
   interface).

   The loopback address must not be used as the source address in IPv6
   packets that are sent outside of a single node.  An IPv6 packet with
   a destination address of loopback must never be sent outside of a
   single node and must never be forwarded by an IPv6 router.






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2.5.4 IPv6 Addresses with Embedded IPv4 Addresses

   The IPv6 transition mechanisms [TRAN] include a technique for hosts
   and routers to dynamically tunnel IPv6 packets over IPv4 routing
   infrastructure.  IPv6 nodes that utilize this technique are assigned
   special IPv6 unicast addresses that carry an IPv4 address in the low-
   order 32-bits.  This type of address is termed an "IPv4-compatible
   IPv6 address" and has the format:

   |                80 bits               | 16 |      32 bits        |
   +--------------------------------------+--------------------------+
   |0000..............................0000|0000|    IPv4 address     |
   +--------------------------------------+----+---------------------+

   A second type of IPv6 address which holds an embedded IPv4 address is
   also defined.  This address is used to represent the addresses of
   IPv4-only nodes (those that *do not* support IPv6) as IPv6 addresses.
   This type of address is termed an "IPv4-mapped IPv6 address" and has
   the format:

   |                80 bits               | 16 |      32 bits        |
   +--------------------------------------+--------------------------+
   |0000..............................0000|FFFF|    IPv4 address     |
   +--------------------------------------+----+---------------------+

2.5.5 NSAP Addresses

   This mapping of NSAP address into IPv6 addresses is defined in
   [NSAP].  This document recommends that network implementors who have
   planned or deployed an OSI NSAP addressing plan, and who wish to
   deploy or transition to IPv6, should redesign a native IPv6
   addressing plan to meet their needs.  However, it also defines a set
   of mechanisms for the support of OSI NSAP addressing in an IPv6
   network.  These mechanisms are the ones that must be used if such
   support is required.  This document also defines a mapping of IPv6
   addresses within the OSI address format, should this be required.

2.5.6 IPX Addresses

   This mapping of IPX address into IPv6 addresses is as follows:

   |   7   |                   121 bits                              |
   +-------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   |0000010|                 to be defined                           |
   +-------+---------------------------------------------------------+

   The draft definition, motivation, and usage are under study.




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2.5.7 Aggregatable Global Unicast Addresses

   The global aggregatable global unicast address is defined in [AGGR].
   This address format is designed to support both the current provider
   based aggregation and a new type of aggregation called exchanges.
   The combination will allow efficient routing aggregation for both
   sites which connect directly to providers and who connect to
   exchanges.  Sites will have the choice to connect to either type of
   aggregation point.

   The IPv6 aggregatable global unicast address format is as follows:

   | 3|  13 | 8 |   24   |   16   |          64 bits               |
   +--+-----+---+--------+--------+--------------------------------+
   |FP| TLA |RES|  NLA   |  SLA   |         Interface ID           |
   |  | ID  |   |  ID    |  ID    |                                |
   +--+-----+---+--------+--------+--------------------------------+

   Where

      001          Format Prefix (3 bit) for Aggregatable Global
                   Unicast Addresses
      TLA ID       Top-Level Aggregation Identifier
      RES          Reserved for future use
      NLA ID       Next-Level Aggregation Identifier
      SLA ID       Site-Level Aggregation Identifier
      INTERFACE ID Interface Identifier

   The contents, field sizes, and assignment rules are defined in
   [AGGR].

2.5.8 Local-Use IPv6 Unicast Addresses

   There are two types of local-use unicast addresses defined.  These
   are Link-Local and Site-Local.  The Link-Local is for use on a single
   link and the Site-Local is for use in a single site.  Link-Local
   addresses have the following format:

   |   10     |
   |  bits    |        54 bits          |          64 bits           |
   +----------+-------------------------+----------------------------+
   |1111111010|           0             |       interface ID         |
   +----------+-------------------------+----------------------------+

   Link-Local addresses are designed to be used for addressing on a
   single link for purposes such as auto-address configuration, neighbor
   discovery, or when no routers are present.




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   Routers must not forward any packets with link-local source or
   destination addresses to other links.

   Site-Local addresses have the following format:

   |   10     |
   |  bits    |   38 bits   |  16 bits  |         64 bits            |
   +----------+-------------+-----------+----------------------------+
   |1111111011|    0        | subnet ID |       interface ID         |
   +----------+-------------+-----------+----------------------------+

   Site-Local addresses are designed to be used for addressing inside of
   a site without the need for a global prefix.

   Routers must not forward any packets with site-local source or
   destination addresses outside of the site.

2.6 Anycast Addresses

   An IPv6 anycast address is an address that is assigned to more than
   one interface (typically belonging to different nodes), with the
   property that a packet sent to an anycast address is routed to the
   "nearest" interface having that address, according to the routing
   protocols' measure of distance.

   Anycast addresses are allocated from the unicast address space, using
   any of the defined unicast address formats.  Thus, anycast addresses
   are syntactically indistinguishable from unicast addresses.  When a
   unicast address is assigned to more than one interface, thus turning
   it into an anycast address, the nodes to which the address is
   assigned must be explicitly configured to know that it is an anycast
   address.

   For any assigned anycast address, there is a longest address prefix P
   that identifies the topological region in which all interfaces
   belonging to that anycast address reside.  Within the region
   identified by P, each member of the anycast set must be advertised as
   a separate entry in the routing system (commonly referred to as a
   "host route"); outside the region identified by P, the anycast
   address may be aggregated into the routing advertisement for prefix
   P.

   Note that in, the worst case, the prefix P of an anycast set may be
   the null prefix, i.e., the members of the set may have no topological
   locality.  In that case, the anycast address must be advertised as a
   separate routing entry throughout the entire internet, which presents





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   a severe scaling limit on how many such "global" anycast sets may be
   supported.  Therefore, it is expected that support for global anycast
   sets may be unavailable or very restricted.

   One expected use of anycast addresses is to identify the set of
   routers belonging to an organization providing internet service.
   Such addresses could be used as intermediate addresses in an IPv6
   Routing header, to cause a packet to be delivered via a particular
   aggregation or sequence of aggregations.  Some other possible uses
   are to identify the set of routers attached to a particular subnet,
   or the set of routers providing entry into a particular routing
   domain.

   There is little experience with widespread, arbitrary use of internet
   anycast addresses, and some known complications and hazards when
   using them in their full generality [ANYCST].  Until more experience
   has been gained and solutions agreed upon for those problems, the
   following restrictions are imposed on IPv6 anycast addresses:

      o An anycast address must not be used as the source address of an
        IPv6 packet.

      o An anycast address must not be assigned to an IPv6 host, that
        is, it may be assigned to an IPv6 router only.

2.6.1 Required Anycast Address

   The Subnet-Router anycast address is predefined.  Its format is as
   follows:

   |                         n bits                 |   128-n bits   |
   +------------------------------------------------+----------------+
   |                   subnet prefix                | 00000000000000 |
   +------------------------------------------------+----------------+

   The "subnet prefix" in an anycast address is the prefix which
   identifies a specific link.  This anycast address is syntactically
   the same as a unicast address for an interface on the link with the
   interface identifier set to zero.

   Packets sent to the Subnet-Router anycast address will be delivered
   to one router on the subnet.  All routers are required to support the
   Subnet-Router anycast addresses for the subnets which they have
   interfaces.







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   The subnet-router anycast address is intended to be used for
   applications where a node needs to communicate with one of a set of
   routers on a remote subnet.  For example when a mobile host needs to
   communicate with one of the mobile agents on its "home" subnet.

2.7 Multicast Addresses

   An IPv6 multicast address is an identifier for a group of nodes.  A
   node may belong to any number of multicast groups.  Multicast
   addresses have the following format:

   |   8    |  4 |  4 |                  112 bits                   |
   +------ -+----+----+---------------------------------------------+
   |11111111|flgs|scop|                  group ID                   |
   +--------+----+----+---------------------------------------------+

      11111111 at the start of the address identifies the address as
      being a multicast address.

                                    +-+-+-+-+
      flgs is a set of 4 flags:     |0|0|0|T|
                                    +-+-+-+-+

         The high-order 3 flags are reserved, and must be initialized to
         0.

         T = 0 indicates a permanently-assigned ("well-known") multicast
         address, assigned by the global internet numbering authority.

         T = 1 indicates a non-permanently-assigned ("transient")
         multicast address.

      scop is a 4-bit multicast scope value used to limit the scope of
      the multicast group.  The values are:

         0  reserved
         1  node-local scope
         2  link-local scope
         3  (unassigned)
         4  (unassigned)
         5  site-local scope
         6  (unassigned)
         7  (unassigned)
         8  organization-local scope
         9  (unassigned)
         A  (unassigned)
         B  (unassigned)
         C  (unassigned)



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         D  (unassigned)
         E  global scope
         F  reserved

      group ID identifies the multicast group, either permanent or
      transient, within the given scope.

   The "meaning" of a permanently-assigned multicast address is
   independent of the scope value.  For example, if the "NTP servers
   group" is assigned a permanent multicast address with a group ID of
   101 (hex), then:

      FF01:0:0:0:0:0:0:101 means all NTP servers on the same node as the
      sender.

      FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:101 means all NTP servers on the same link as the
      sender.

      FF05:0:0:0:0:0:0:101 means all NTP servers at the same site as the
      sender.

      FF0E:0:0:0:0:0:0:101 means all NTP servers in the internet.

   Non-permanently-assigned multicast addresses are meaningful only
   within a given scope.  For example, a group identified by the non-
   permanent, site-local multicast address FF15:0:0:0:0:0:0:101 at one
   site bears no relationship to a group using the same address at a
   different site, nor to a non-permanent group using the same group ID
   with different scope, nor to a permanent group with the same group
   ID.

   Multicast addresses must not be used as source addresses in IPv6
   packets or appear in any routing header.

2.7.1 Pre-Defined Multicast Addresses

   The following well-known multicast addresses are pre-defined:

      Reserved Multicast Addresses:   FF00:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF01:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF03:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF04:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF05:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF06:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF07:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF08:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF09:0:0:0:0:0:0:0



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                                      FF0A:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF0B:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF0C:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF0D:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF0E:0:0:0:0:0:0:0
                                      FF0F:0:0:0:0:0:0:0

   The above multicast addresses are reserved and shall never be
   assigned to any multicast group.

      All Nodes Addresses:    FF01:0:0:0:0:0:0:1
                              FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:1

   The above multicast addresses identify the group of all IPv6 nodes,
   within scope 1 (node-local) or 2 (link-local).

      All Routers Addresses:   FF01:0:0:0:0:0:0:2
                               FF02:0:0:0:0:0:0:2
                               FF05:0:0:0:0:0:0:2

   The above multicast addresses identify the group of all IPv6 routers,
   within scope 1 (node-local), 2 (link-local), or 5 (site-local).

      Solicited-Node Address:  FF02:0:0:0:0:1:FFXX:XXXX

   The above multicast address is computed as a function of a node's
   unicast and anycast addresses.  The solicited-node multicast address
   is formed by taking the low-order 24 bits of the address (unicast or
   anycast) and appending those bits to the prefix
   FF02:0:0:0:0:1:FF00::/104 resulting in a multicast address in the
   range

      FF02:0:0:0:0:1:FF00:0000

   to

      FF02:0:0:0:0:1:FFFF:FFFF

   For example, the solicited node multicast address corresponding to
   the IPv6 address 4037::01:800:200E:8C6C is FF02::1:FF0E:8C6C.  IPv6
   addresses that differ only in the high-order bits, e.g. due to
   multiple high-order prefixes associated with different aggregations,
   will map to the same solicited-node address thereby reducing the
   number of multicast addresses a node must join.

   A node is required to compute and join the associated Solicited-Node
   multicast addresses for every unicast and anycast address it is
   assigned.



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2.7.2 Assignment of New IPv6 Multicast Addresses

   The current approach [ETHER] to map IPv6 multicast addresses into
   IEEE 802 MAC addresses takes the low order 32 bits of the IPv6
   multicast address and uses it to create a MAC address.  Note that
   Token Ring networks are handled differently.  This is defined in
   [TOKEN].  Group ID's less than or equal to 32 bits will generate
   unique MAC addresses.  Due to this new IPv6 multicast addresses
   should be assigned so that the group identifier is always in the low
   order 32 bits as shown in the following:

   |   8    |  4 |  4 |          80 bits          |     32 bits     |
   +------ -+----+----+---------------------------+-----------------+
   |11111111|flgs|scop|   reserved must be zero   |    group ID     |
   +--------+----+----+---------------------------+-----------------+

   While this limits the number of permanent IPv6 multicast groups to
   2^32 this is unlikely to be a limitation in the future.  If it
   becomes necessary to exceed this limit in the future multicast will
   still work but the processing will be sightly slower.

   Additional IPv6 multicast addresses are defined and registered by the
   IANA [MASGN].

2.8 A Node's Required Addresses

   A host is required to recognize the following addresses as
   identifying itself:

      o Its Link-Local Address for each interface
      o Assigned Unicast Addresses
      o Loopback Address
      o All-Nodes Multicast Addresses
      o Solicited-Node Multicast Address for each of its assigned
        unicast and anycast addresses
      o Multicast Addresses of all other groups to which the host
        belongs.

   A router is required to recognize all addresses that a host is
   required to recognize, plus the following addresses as identifying
   itself:

      o The Subnet-Router anycast addresses for the interfaces it is
        configured to act as a router on.
      o All other Anycast addresses with which the router has been
        configured.
      o All-Routers Multicast Addresses




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      o Multicast Addresses of all other groups to which the router
        belongs.

   The only address prefixes which should be predefined in an
   implementation are the:

      o Unspecified Address
      o Loopback Address
      o Multicast Prefix (FF)
      o Local-Use Prefixes (Link-Local and Site-Local)
      o Pre-Defined Multicast Addresses
      o IPv4-Compatible Prefixes

   Implementations should assume all other addresses are unicast unless
   specifically configured (e.g., anycast addresses).

3. Security Considerations

   IPv6 addressing documents do not have any direct impact on Internet
   infrastructure security.  Authentication of IPv6 packets is defined
   in [AUTH].






























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APPENDIX A : Creating EUI-64 based Interface Identifiers
--------------------------------------------------------

   Depending on the characteristics of a specific link or node there are
   a number of approaches for creating EUI-64 based interface
   identifiers.  This appendix describes some of these approaches.

Links or Nodes with EUI-64 Identifiers

   The only change needed to transform an EUI-64 identifier to an
   interface identifier is to invert the "u" (universal/local) bit.  For
   example, a globally unique EUI-64 identifier of the form:

   |0              1|1              3|3              4|4              6|
   |0              5|6              1|2              7|8              3|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
   |cccccc0gcccccccc|ccccccccmmmmmmmm|mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

   where "c" are the bits of the assigned company_id, "0" is the value
   of the universal/local bit to indicate global scope, "g" is
   individual/group bit, and "m" are the bits of the manufacturer-
   selected extension identifier.  The IPv6 interface identifier would
   be of the form:

   |0              1|1              3|3              4|4              6|
   |0              5|6              1|2              7|8              3|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
   |cccccc1gcccccccc|ccccccccmmmmmmmm|mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

   The only change is inverting the value of the universal/local bit.

Links or Nodes with IEEE 802 48 bit MAC's

   [EUI64] defines a method to create a EUI-64 identifier from an IEEE
   48bit MAC identifier.  This is to insert two octets, with hexadecimal
   values of 0xFF and 0xFE, in the middle of the 48 bit MAC (between the
   company_id and vendor supplied id).  For example the 48 bit MAC with
   global scope:

   |0              1|1              3|3              4|
   |0              5|6              1|2              7|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+
   |cccccc0gcccccccc|ccccccccmmmmmmmm|mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+





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   where "c" are the bits of the assigned company_id, "0" is the value
   of the universal/local bit to indicate global scope, "g" is
   individual/group bit, and "m" are the bits of the manufacturer-
   selected extension identifier.  The interface identifier would be of
   the form:

   |0              1|1              3|3              4|4              6|
   |0              5|6              1|2              7|8              3|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
   |cccccc1gcccccccc|cccccccc11111111|11111110mmmmmmmm|mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

   When IEEE 802 48bit MAC addresses are available (on an interface or a
   node), an implementation should use them to create interface
   identifiers due to their availability and uniqueness properties.

Links with Non-Global Identifiers

   There are a number of types of links that, while multi-access, do not
   have globally unique link identifiers.  Examples include LocalTalk
   and Arcnet.  The method to create an EUI-64 formatted identifier is
   to take the link identifier (e.g., the LocalTalk 8 bit node
   identifier) and zero fill it to the left.  For example a LocalTalk 8
   bit node identifier of hexadecimal value 0x4F results in the
   following interface identifier:

   |0              1|1              3|3              4|4              6|
   |0              5|6              1|2              7|8              3|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
   |0000000000000000|0000000000000000|0000000000000000|0000000001001111|
   +----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+

   Note that this results in the universal/local bit set to "0" to
   indicate local scope.

Links without Identifiers

   There are a number of links that do not have any type of built-in
   identifier.  The most common of these are serial links and configured
   tunnels.  Interface identifiers must be chosen that are unique for
   the link.

   When no built-in identifier is available on a link the preferred
   approach is to use a global interface identifier from another
   interface or one which is assigned to the node itself.  To use this
   approach no other interface connecting the same node to the same link
   may use the same identifier.




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   If there is no global interface identifier available for use on the
   link the implementation needs to create a local scope interface
   identifier.  The only requirement is that it be unique on the link.
   There are many possible approaches to select a link-unique interface
   identifier.  They include:

      Manual Configuration
      Generated Random Number
      Node Serial Number (or other node-specific token)

   The link-unique interface identifier should be generated in a manner
   that it does not change after a reboot of a node or if interfaces are
   added or deleted from the node.

   The selection of the appropriate algorithm is link and implementation
   dependent.  The details on forming interface identifiers are defined
   in the appropriate "IPv6 over <link>" specification.  It is strongly
   recommended that a collision detection algorithm be implemented as
   part of any automatic algorithm.
































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APPENDIX B: ABNF Description of Text Representations
----------------------------------------------------

   This appendix defines the text representation of IPv6 addresses and
   prefixes in Augmented BNF [ABNF] for reference purposes.

      IPv6address = hexpart [ ":" IPv4address ]
      IPv4address = 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT "." 1*3DIGIT

      IPv6prefix  = hexpart "/" 1*2DIGIT

      hexpart = hexseq | hexseq "::" [ hexseq ] | "::" [ hexseq ]
      hexseq  = hex4 *( ":" hex4)
      hex4    = 1*4HEXDIG





































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APPENDIX C: CHANGES FROM RFC-1884
---------------------------------

   The following changes were made from RFC-1884 "IP Version 6
   Addressing Architecture":

      - Added an appendix providing a ABNF description of text
        representations.
      - Clarification that link unique identifiers not change after
        reboot or other interface reconfigurations.
      - Clarification of Address Model based on comments.
      - Changed aggregation format terminology to be consistent with
        aggregation draft.
      - Added text to allow interface identifier to be used on more than
        one interface on same node.
      - Added rules for defining new multicast addresses.
      - Added appendix describing procedures for creating EUI-64 based
        interface ID's.
      - Added notation for defining IPv6 prefixes.
      - Changed solicited node multicast definition to use a longer
        prefix.
      - Added site scope all routers multicast address.
      - Defined Aggregatable Global Unicast Addresses to use "001" Format
        Prefix.
      - Changed "010" (Provider-Based Unicast) and "100" (Reserved for
        Geographic) Format Prefixes to Unassigned.
      - Added section on Interface ID definition for unicast addresses.
        Requires use of EUI-64 in range of format prefixes and rules for
        setting global/local scope bit in EUI-64.
      - Updated NSAP text to reflect working in RFC1888.
      - Removed protocol specific IPv6 multicast addresses (e.g., DHCP)
        and referenced the IANA definitions.
      - Removed section "Unicast Address Example".  Had become OBE.
      - Added new and updated references.
      - Minor text clarifications and improvements.
















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REFERENCES

   [ABNF]    Crocker, D., and P. Overell, "Augmented BNF for
             Syntax Specifications: ABNF", RFC 2234, November 1997.

   [AGGR]    Hinden, R., O'Dell, M., and S. Deering, "An
             Aggregatable Global Unicast Address Format", RFC 2374, July
             1998.

   [AUTH]    Atkinson, R., "IP Authentication Header", RFC 1826, August
             1995.

   [ANYCST]  Partridge, C., Mendez, T., and W. Milliken, "Host
             Anycasting Service", RFC 1546, November 1993.

   [CIDR]    Fuller, V., Li, T., Yu, J., and K. Varadhan, "Classless
             Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR): An Address Assignment and
             Aggregation Strategy", RFC 1519, September 1993.

   [ETHER]   Crawford, M., "Transmission of IPv6 Pacekts over Ethernet
             Networks", Work in Progress.

   [EUI64]   IEEE, "Guidelines for 64-bit Global Identifier (EUI-64)
             Registration Authority",
             http://standards.ieee.org/db/oui/tutorials/EUI64.html,
             March 1997.

   [FDDI]    Crawford, M., "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over FDDI
             Networks", Work in Progress.

   [IPV6]    Deering, S., and R. Hinden, Editors, "Internet Protocol,
             Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", RFC 1883, December 1995.

   [MASGN]   Hinden, R., and S. Deering, "IPv6 Multicast Address
             Assignments", RFC 2375, July 1998.

   [NSAP]    Bound, J., Carpenter, B., Harrington, D., Houldsworth, J.,
             and A. Lloyd, "OSI NSAPs and IPv6", RFC 1888, August 1996.

   [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
             Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [TOKEN]   Thomas, S., "Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Token Ring
             Networks", Work in Progress.

   [TRAN]    Gilligan, R., and E. Nordmark, "Transition Mechanisms for
             IPv6 Hosts and Routers", RFC 1993, April 1996.




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AUTHORS' ADDRESSES

   Robert M. Hinden
   Nokia
   232 Java Drive
   Sunnyvale, CA 94089
   USA

   Phone: +1 408 990-2004
   Fax:   +1 408 743-5677
   EMail: hinden@iprg.nokia.com


   Stephen E. Deering
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   170 West Tasman Drive
   San Jose, CA 95134-1706
   USA

   Phone: +1 408 527-8213
   Fax:   +1 408 527-8254
   EMail: deering@cisco.com





























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Full Copyright Statement

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998).  All Rights Reserved.

   This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
   others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
   or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
   and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
   kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
   included on all such copies and derivative works.  However, this
   document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
   the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
   Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
   developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
   copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
   followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
   English.

   The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
   revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.

   This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
   "AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
   TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
   BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
   HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
   MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
























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