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Introducing IPv6
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➢ IPv4 Reminders & Limits

1. What is IPv4?
IPv4 is 32-bit addresses divided into four octets (8-bits).
IP addresses are grouped into classes. Each class has a range of IP addresses.

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IPv4 addresses gives us 4,294,467,295 IP addresses which was enough back in the days,
but when internet growth we need more addresses, so we came up with several short-
term solutions to make IPv4 addresses last longer like:
▪ CIDR: Classless interdomain routing, Classless networks means we don’t use the
class A, B or C networks anymore but are free to use any subnet mask we like.
Example: 192.168.1.0 with subnet mask 255.255.255.0 is the same thing as
192.168.1.0 /24.

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▪ NAT/PAT (Network Address Translation): is used to translate private source IP
addresses to public IP addresses, allowing many hosts on our LAN to access the
Internet using a single public IP address as shown in figure below.

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2. What About IPv5?
IPv5 is the IP number of the Internet Stream Protocol, because it uses the same data
link layer framing as IPv4:

▪ Experimental protocol.
▪ Addresses resource reservation.
▪ Designed to coexist with Ipv4; not a replacement – same addressing scheme.
Resource reservation is now done using other protocols.

➢ IPv6 Features and Advantages

1. What is IPv6?

IPv6 address is 128 bits, or 16 bytes. The address is divided into eight 16-bit hex‐
adecimal blocks separated by colons. For example:
2001:0db8:0000:0000:0202:b1ff:fe1e:8310

2. IPv6 Address Notation

IPv6 Address is a long address, to abbreviate or shorten this Address there are two basic
rules.

▪ Inside each quartet of four hex digits, remove the leading 0s

Example: 2001:00AA:0B11:0000:0022:FFFF:FEE1:0001
When we apply the first rule it become:
2001:AA:B11:0:22:FFFF:FEE1:1
NOTE: A quarter of consecutive 0s is represented by a single 0
▪ consecutive quartets of 0s is replaced by double colon (::)

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Example: FE00:0000:0000:0000:0000:00FF:1930:00CD
Applying both rules we would get:
FE00::FF:1930:CD
NOTE: If two instances exist where more than one quartet in a row has
only a 0. Pick the longest such sequence, and replace it with ::
Example : FE00:0:0:1:0:0:0:56 ----> FE:0:0:1::56

3. IPv6 Features and Advantages:

• Larger addresses space: IPv6 has 128 bit addresses and has a much larger
address space than 32-bit IPv4, This much of extra bits can provide
approximately 3.4×1038 different combinations of addresses. To imagine this
number of addresses According to an estimate, 1564 addresses can be
allocated to every square meter of this earth.
• Simpler header: IPv6’s header has been simplified by moving all unnecessary
information and options (which are present in IPv4 header) to the end of the
IPv6 header. The figure below show the difference between IPv4 and IPv6
header.
• Security: IPv6 is more secure than IPv4 for the following reasons:
o No Broadcast traffic: instead we use multicast.
o IPSec: IPv6 have IPSec security, making it more secure than IPv4. This
feature has now been made optional.
• Mobility: IPv6 support mobility, this feature enable host to move from one
network to another and keep their current IPv6 address. This characteristic
also help as in IOT.

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• Migration Tools: IPv4 and IPv6 are not compatible so we need migration tools
(also called transition mechanisms). Those transition mechanisms allow hosts
on an IPv4 network to communicate with hosts on an IPv6 network, and vice
versa.

➢ IPv6 Address Format & Type

1. IPv6 ADDRESSES TYPES : There are three types of IPv6 address:

• Unicast address : A unicast address uniquely identifies an

interface of an IPv6 node , There are a number of different unicast
address types :
I. Global Unicast: The global unicast IPv6 addresses are similar to
IPv4 public addresses. These addresses can be used on the
Internet. Start with 2000::/3 thru 3fff::/3 , the figure below is an
example of a global unicast address.

II. Unique Local: Unique local addresses are similar to private IPv4
addresses, we use this these addresses to communicate in our
own network. The FC00::/7 prefix thru FDFF::/7 is reserved for

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unique local addresses. the figure below is an example of a unique
local address.

III. Link Local: link local addresses are used to send and receive IPv6
packets on a single subnet, especially for control plan like neighbor
discovery (the replacement of ARP) and Routing protocols. The link
local addresses use the FE80::/10 range thru FEBF::/10, the figure
below is an example of a unique local address.

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• Multicast address: An IPv6 multicast address defines a group of
devices known as a multicast group. IPv6 multicast addresses use
the prefix FF30::/12, in which a device sends a single packet to
multiple destinations simultaneously (one-to-many), below are
the most common reserved IPv6 multicast addresses

• Anycast address: This is another characteristic of IPv6. In this

mode, multiple interfaces over the Internet are assigned to the
same Anycast IP address. Routers will send the packet to the
nearest destination. As shown in the figure below

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• IPv6 Addressing Architecture

1. IPv6 Address assignment:
• Prefix assignment:
IANA “owns” the entire IPv6 address space and they assign certain
prefixes to the RIRs (Regional Internet Registry). There are 5 RIRs at
the moment as shown below

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The ISP then contact his RIR who will assign him an IPv6 prefix. The ISP
can then assign prefixes to their customers.

• Subnet assignment: A device can be configured with a global

unicast address in Two ways :
• Manual configuration:
❖ Manual: This method is similar to configuring a manual or
static IPv4 address. The IPv6 address and the prefix length
are both configured on the interface.
Example of statically configured interface:

❖ EUI-64 (Extended Unique Identifier): An IPv6 device will use

the MAC address of its interface to generate a unique 64-bit
interface ID. As shown in figure below

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Example of configured interface using Eui-64:

• Auto configuration:
❖ SLAAC: SLAAC provides the ability to address a host based
on a network prefix that is advertised from a local network
router via Router Advertisements (RA). The figure below
show how a host allocate ipv6 address using SLAAC

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❖ Stateful DHCPv6: The stateful version of DHCPv6 is pretty

much the same as for IPv4. Our DHCPv6 server will assign
IPv6 addresses to all DHCPv6 clients and it will keep track of
the bindings.

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• Main Features of ICMPv6

ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) is one of the core protocols
of the TCP/IP suite of protocols. It is used by operating systems to send
messages—either informational or error messages—between devices.
ICMP is also used by various applications such as ping and traceroute to
test network connectivity between two devices.

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ICMP and ICMPv6 very similar; however, ICMPv6 is more than just ICMP
for IPv6 containing new features and improving on similar functionality
in ICMPv4.
Below are the main features of ICMPv6 :
• ICMPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) is used for on-link
(same subnet) device discovery and messaging. It has five
message types, four of which are new:
• Neighbor Solicitation and Neighbor Advertisement messages:
Used for Layer 3 to Layer 2 address resolution, the Neighbor
Solicitation and Neighbor Advertisement messages are similar to
the ARP Request and ARP Reply messages in IPv4. They use
message type field value of 135 And 136.
Below a Comparison of IPv4 ARP Request and ARP Reply to IPv6 NS and
NA Messages

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• Router Solicitation and Router Advertisement messages: A

Router Solicitation message is sent by a device to request a
Router Advertisement message from an IPv6 router. The RA
message contains information that a device can use to create its
own address along with the address of the default gateway, as
shown below

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Here are some ICMPv6 informational messages

• IPv6 Routing Protocols

Routing defines the paths over which packets travel in the network,
divided into static and dynamic routing:
1. Static Routing: IPv6 static routing is similar to IPv4.
the figure below show a simple example where we create a static
route and static default route for the prefix we want to reach:
2001:DB8:2:2::/64.

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Here is the configuration of static route and default static route:

2. Dynamic Routing : IPv6 has been implemented in all the major

dynamic routing protocols used today, including the following:
■ Routing Information Protocol next generation (RIPng)
■ Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) for IPv6
■ Open Shortest Path First version 3 (OSPFv3)
■ Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-IS) for IPv6
■ Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) for IPv6
In this document we will discuss the two more commune protocols
OSPFv3 and IPv6 EIGRP
▪ OSPFv3: just like OSPFv2 OSPFv3 still establishes neighbor
adjacencies, has areas, different network types, the same metrics,

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runs SPF, etc. There are however some differences. Here are
some of the differences:
Link-local addresses: OSPFv3 packets are sourced from link-local IPv6
addresses.
Links, not networks: OSPFv3 uses the terminology links where we
use networks in OSPFv2.
New LSA types: there are two new LSA types, and LSA type 1 and 2
have changed.
Interface commands: OSPFv3 uses interface commands to enable it on
the interface, we don’t use the network command anymore as OSPFv2
does.
OSPFv3 router ID: OSPFv3 is unable to set its own router ID like OSPFv2
does. Instead, you have to manually configure the router ID. It is
configured as a 32-bit value, same as in OSPFv2.
Multiple prefixes per interface: if you have multiple IPv6 prefixes on an
interface then OSPFv3 will advertise all of them.
Authentication: OSPFv3 doesn’t use plain text or MD5 authentication
as OSPFv2 does. Instead, it uses IPv6’s IPSec authentication.

❖ Configuration of OSPv3:

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OSPFv3 process :

Configure OSPFv3 Interface:

▪ EIGRP for IPv6: similar to IPv4 ,This is how you enable EIGRP for
IPv6

• IPV6 TRANSITION MECHANISMS

A number of so-called transition mechanisms are needed in order to
permit hosts on an IPv4 network to communicate with hosts on
an IPv6 network, and vice versa.

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Three tools allow this transition mechanism:
• Dual IPv4/IPv6 stacks (dual stacks)
• Tunneling
• NAT Protocol Translator (NAT-PT)

• Dual IPv4/IPv6 stacks:

Dual stack means that devices are able to run IPv4 and IPv6 in parallel.
It allows hosts to simultaneously reach IPv4 and IPv6 content. The host
can send IPv4 packets to other IPv4 hosts, and that the host can send
IPv6 packets to other IPv6 hosts.
Benefits of dual stacks:
1. Native dual stack does not require any tunneling mechanisms on
internal networks.
2. Both IPv4 and IPv6 run independent of each other.

• Tunneling:
Tunneling refers to a process by which one router or host encapsulates
the IPv6 packet inside an IPv4 packet.
Allows isolated IPv6 end system and routers to communicate without
the need to upgrade the IPv4 infrastructure that exists between them.
▪ The two main categories of tunnels are: point-to-point tunnels
and multi-point tunnels.

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1. point-to-point tunnels:
Point-to-point tunnels (MCT and GRE) have many similarities:
» They both create a virtual point-to-point link between two IPv4
routers.
» IPv6 IGP routing protocols can run over these virtual links.
» The difference between GRE and MCT is that MCT encapsulates
packets without an additional header, whereas GRE uses an addition
stub header.
1.1 MCT TUNNEL (manually configured tunnel):

▪ Point-to-point tunnel that is configured manually

▪ Acts like a virtual point-to-point link, supporting IPv6 IGPs

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▪ Supports IPv6 IGPs
▪ Slightly less overhead than GRE.

1.2 GRE TUNNEL:

▪ Point-to-point tunnel that is configured manually

▪ Generic routing encapsulation
▪ Same advantages as manually configured tunnels.
▪ Can support other Layer 3 protocols over the same tunnel.

2. multi-point tunnels:
» These tunnels also do not support IPv6 IGPs, requiring the use of
either static routes or multiprotocol BGP.

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» These tunnels are best for less frequent traffic.
» There are two types of multipoint tunnels: automatic 6to4 tunnels
and ISATAP tunnels

1.1 6to4 TUNNEL:

▪ Multipoint tunnel that is dynamically formed.

▪ Supports global unicasts, with some extra configuration
▪ Uses second and third quartets to store IPv4 address

1.2 ISATAP TUNNEL:

▪ Multipoint tunnel that is dynamically formed
▪ Easily supports global unicast addresses for all prefixes
▪ Uses seventh and eighth quartets to store IPv4 address
NOTE: the term quartet is used for one set of four hex digits, with eight
quartets in each IPv6 address.

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• NAT Protocol Translator (NAT-PT)
The translation from IPv4 to IPv6 and vice versa on a router , NAT-PT
translates both the source and destination IP address , it also translates
the entire IPv4 and IPv6 header

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NAT-PT also translates DNSv4 to DNSv6 and keeps track of the names
and address bindings.

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