IPv6, formerly named IPng (next generation), is the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP). IP is a packet-based protocol used to exchange data, voice, and video traffic over digital networks. IPv6 was proposed when it became clear that the 32-bit addressing scheme of IP version 4 (IPv4) was inadequate to meet the demands of Internet growth. After extensive discussion it was decided to base IPng on IP but add a much larger address space and improvements such as a simplified main header and extension headers. IPv6 is described initially in RFC 2460, Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification, issued by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Further RFCs describe the architecture and services supported by IPv6.

The architecture of IPv6 has been designed to allow existing IPv4 users to transition easily to IPv6 while providing services such as end-to-end security, quality of service (QoS), and globally unique addresses. The larger IPv6 address space allows networks to scale and provide global reachability. The simplified IPv6 packet header format handles packets more efficiently. IPv6 prefix aggregation, simplified network renumbering, and IPv6 site multihoming capabilities provide an IPv6 addressing hierarchy that allows for more efficient routing. IPv6 supports widely deployed routing protocols such as Integrated Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) for IPv6, and multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). Other available features include stateless autoconfiguration and an increased number of multicast addresses.

The primary motivation for IPv6 is the need to meet the demand for globally unique IP addresses. IPv6 quadruples the number of network address bits from 32 bits (in IPv4) to 128 bits, which provides more than enough globally unique IP addresses for every networked device on the planet. By being globally unique, IPv6 addresses inherently enable global reachability and end-to-end security for networked devices, functionality that is crucial to the applications and services that are driving the demand for the addresses. Additionally, the flexibility of the IPv6 address space reduces the need for private addresses; therefore, IPv6 enables new application protocols that do not require special processing by border devices at the edge of networks.

IPv6 addresses are represented as a series of 16-bit hexadecimal fields separated by colons (:) in the format: x:x:x:x:x:x:x:x. Following are two examples of IPv6 addresses:

2001:DB8:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210

2001:DB8:0:0:8:800:200C:417A

IPv6 addresses commonly contain successive hexadecimal fields of zeros. Two colons (::) may be used to compress successive hexadecimal fields of zeros at the beginning, middle, or end of an IPv6 address (the colons represent successive hexadecimal fields of zeros). The table below lists compressed IPv6 address formats.

A double colon may be used as part of the ipv6-address argument when consecutive 16-bit values are denoted as zero. You can configure multiple IPv6 addresses per interfaces, but only one link-local address.

Note	Two colons (::) can be used only once in an IPv6 address to represent the longest successive hexadecimal fields of zeros. The hexadecimal letters in IPv6 addresses are not case-sensitive.

The loopback address listed in the table above may be used by a node to send an IPv6 packet to itself. The loopback address in IPv6 functions the same as the loopback address in IPv4 (127.0.0.1).

Note

The IPv6 loopback address cannot be assigned to a physical interface. A packet that has the IPv6 loopback address as its source or destination address must remain within the node that created the packet. IPv6 devices do not forward packets that have the IPv6 loopback address as their source or destination address.

The unspecified address listed in the table above indicates the absence of an IPv6 address. For example, a newly initialized node on an IPv6 network may use the unspecified address as the source address in its packets until it receives its IPv6 address.

Note	The IPv6 unspecified address cannot be assigned to an interface. The unspecified IPv6 addresses must not be used as destination addresses in IPv6 packets or the IPv6 routing header.

An IPv6 address prefix, in the format ipv6-prefix /prefix-length , can be used to represent bit-wise contiguous blocks of the entire address space. The ipv6-prefix must be in the form documented in RFC 2373 where the address is specified in hexadecimal using 16-bit values between colons. The prefix length is a decimal value that indicates how many of the high-order contiguous bits of the address comprise the prefix (the network portion of the address). For example, 2001:DB8:8086:6502::/32 is a valid IPv6 prefix.

When IPv6 or IPv4 command output displays an IPv6 address, a long IPv6 address can overflow into neighboring fields, causing the output to be difficult to read. The output fields were designed to work with the longest possible IPv4 address, which has 15 characters; IPv6 addresses can be up to 39 characters long. The following scheme has been adopted in IPv4 and IPv6 commands to allow the appropriate length of IPv6 address to be displayed and move the following fields to the next line, if necessary. The fields that are moved are kept in alignment with the header row.

The following example displays eight connections. The first six connections feature IPv6 addresses; the last two connections feature IPv4 addresses.

Device# where
Conn Host                Address             Byte  Idle Conn Name
   1 test5               2001:DB8:3333:4::5    6    24 test5
   2 test4               2001:DB8:3333:44::5
                                               6    24 test4
   3 2001:DB8:3333:4::5 2001:DB8:3333:4::5     6    24 2001:DB8:3333:4::5
   4 2001:DB8:3333:44::5
                         2001:DB8:3333:44::5
                                               6    23 2001:DB8:3333:44::5
   5 2001:DB8:3000:4000:5000:6000:7000:8001
                         2001:DB8:3000:4000:5000:6000:7000:8001
                                               6    20 2001:DB8:3000:4000:5000:6000:
   6 2001:DB8:1::1      2001:DB8:1::1          0     1 2001:DB8:1::1
   7 10.1.9.1            10.1.9.1              0     0 10.1.9.1
   8 10.222.111.222      10.222.111.222        0     0 10.222.111.222

Connection 1 contains an IPv6 address that uses the maximum address length in the address field. Connection 2 shows the IPv6 address overflowing the address field and the following fields moved to the next line, but in alignment with the appropriate headers. Connection 3 contains an IPv6 address that fills the maximum length of the hostname and address fields without wrapping any lines. Connection 4 shows the effect of both the hostname and address fields containing a long IPv6 address. The output is shown over three lines keeping the correct heading alignment. Connection 5 displays a similar effect as connection 4 with a very long IPv6 address in the hostname and address fields. Note that the connection name field is actually truncated. Connection 6 displays a very short IPv6 address that does not require any change in the display. Connections 7 and 8 display short and long IPv4 addresses.

Note	The IPv6 address output display applies to all commands that display IPv6 addresses.

The basic IPv4 packet header has 12 fields with a total size of 20 octets (160 bits) (see the figure below). The 12 fields may be followed by an Options field, which is followed by a data portion that is usually the transport-layer packet. The variable length of the Options field adds to the total size of the IPv4 packet header. The shaded fields of the IPv4 packet header shown in the figure below are not included in the IPv6 packet header.

The basic IPv6 packet header has 8 fields with a total size of 40 octets (320 bits) (see the figure below). Fields were removed from the IPv6 header because, in IPv6, fragmentation is not handled by devices and checksums at the network layer are not used. Instead, fragmentation in IPv6 is handled by the source of a packet and checksums at the data link layer and transport layer are used. (In IPv4, the UDP transport layer uses an optional checksum. In IPv6, use of the UDP checksum is required to check the integrity of the inner packet.) Additionally, the basic IPv6 packet header and Options field are aligned to 64 bits, which can facilitate the processing of IPv6 packets.

The table below lists the fields in the basic IPv6 packet header.

Following the eight fields of the basic IPv6 packet header are optional extension headers and the data portion of the packet. If present, each extension header is aligned to 64 bits. There is no fixed number of extension headers in an IPv6 packet. The extension headers form a chain of headers. Each extension header is identified by the Next Header field of the previous header. Typically, the final extension header has a Next Header field of a transport-layer protocol, such as TCP or UDP. The figure below shows the IPv6 extension header format.

The table below lists the extension header types and their Next Header field values.

The Cisco Discovery Protocol IPv6 address support for neighbor information feature adds the ability to transfer IPv6 addressing information between two Cisco devices. Cisco Discovery Protocol support for IPv6 addresses provides IPv6 information to network management products and troubleshooting tools.

The aggregatable nature of the IPv6 address space enables an IPv6 addressing hierarchy. For example, an enterprise can subdivide a single IPv6 prefix from a service provider into multiple, longer prefixes for use within its internal network. Conversely, a service provider can aggregate all of the prefixes of its customers into a single, shorter prefix that the service provider can then advertise over the IPv6 internet (see the figure below).

Multiple IPv6 prefixes can be assigned to networks and hosts. Having multiple prefixes assigned to a network allows that network to connect easily to multiple ISPs without breaking the global routing table (see the figure below).

In IPv6 networks, a data link is a network sharing a particular link-local prefix. Data links are networks arbitrarily segmented by a network administrator in order to provide a multilevel, hierarchical routing structure while shielding the subnetwork from the addressing complexity of attached networks. The function of a subnetwork in IPv6 is similar to a subnetwork in IPv4. A subnetwork prefix is associated with one data link; multiple subnetwork prefixes may be assigned to the same data link.

The following data links are supported for IPv6: FDDI, Frame Relay PVC, Cisco High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC), PPP over Packet over SONET, ISDN, and serial interfaces.

The dual IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stack technique can be used to transition to IPv6. It enables gradual, one-by-one upgrades to applications running on nodes. Applications running on nodes are upgraded to make use of the IPv6 protocol stack. Applications that are not upgraded (for example, they support only the IPv4 protocol stack) can coexist with upgraded applications on a node. New and upgraded applications make use of both the IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stacks (see the figure below).

One application program interface (API) supports both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and DNS requests. An application can be upgraded to the new API and still use only the IPv4 protocol stack. The Cisco software supports the dual IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stack technique. When an interface is configured with both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address, the interface will forward both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.

In the figure below, an application that supports dual IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stacks requests all available addresses for the destination hostname www.example.com from a DNS server. The DNS server replies with all available addresses (both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses) for www.example.com. The application chooses an address (in most cases, IPv6 addresses are the default choice), and connects the source node to the destination using the IPv6 protocol stack.