Network Working Group                                          R. Hinden
Request for Comments: 3513                                         Nokia
Obsoletes: 2373                                               S. Deering
Category: Standards Track                                  Cisco Systems
                                                              April 2003


       Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) 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 (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This specification defines the addressing architecture of the IP
   Version 6 (IPv6) protocol.  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.























Hinden & Deering            Standards Track                     [Page 1]

RFC 3513              IPv6 Addressing Architecture            April 2003


Table of Contents

   1. Introduction.................................................3
   2. IPv6 Addressing..............................................3
      2.1 Addressing Model.........................................4
      2.2 Text Representation of Addresses.........................4
      2.3 Text Representation of Address Prefixes..................5
      2.4 Address Type Identification..............................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 Global Unicast Addresses..........................10
          2.5.5 IPv6 Addresses with Embedded IPv4 Addresses.......10
          2.5.6 Local-use IPv6 Unicast Addresses..................11
      2.6 Anycast Addresses.......................................12
          2.6.1 Required Anycast Address..........................13
      2.7 Multicast Addresses.....................................13
          2.7.1 Pre-Defined Multicast Addresses...................15
      2.8 A Node's Required Addresses.............................17
   3. Security Considerations.....................................17
   4. IANA Considerations.........................................18
   5. References..................................................19
      5.1 Normative References....................................