Computer Networking UNIT-3

UNIT-3
Network Addressing and Sub-netting

3.1 Introduction To Network Addressing:

Each device on a network has an address that is unique within the network. Any device that
wishes to send data to another device includes the address of the destination device along with the
data. The device whose address matches with the destination address accepts the data while all other
devices ignore it. If the destination address of the data does not match with the address of any device
on the network it is forwarded to a different network with the help of a router.
The middle layer protocols used on the network are responsible for providing a unique address
to each device on the network.
The following are the middle layer protocols available:
1. TCP /IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol)
2. IPX/SPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange / Sequenced Packet Exchange)

sh
3. NETBIOS (NETBIOS Enhanced User Interface).

ade
3.2 Explain TCP/IP Addressing Scheme:

Pr
 TCP/IP uses a 32 bit addressing scheme to identify the devices of a network.

a
hr
 32 bits are divided into 4 octets, of eight bit each.

nd
 An IP address is a 32 bit long identifier

,A
 The format of representing an IP address is called the dotted decimal notation

ct
 Each byte is identified by a decimal number in the range [0-255]

tri
is
Dotted Decimal Notation example

D
a
hn
ris
,K
Example: ru
lle
va

The 32-bit binary address

la

11000110.10101100.10101000.00001010
ud

Represents the IP address 198.172.168.10

,G
ic

3.3 List and Explain COMPONENTS OF IP ADDRESS:

hn
ec

IP address is divided into the following components:

yt

Host address: This is the address of the device within the network.
ol

Network address: This is the address of the network itself, and is used by other networks to identify
.P

this network.
.R
.S
R
V.
V.
.&

There may be several computers in a particular network. The IP address of all these computers begin
.M

with the same network address.

N

Ex:
A.
A.

198.172.168.1
1 Example:
198.172.168.1 Network address is:
2 128.143.0.
Host 0 Host number is: 137.144
Address

1
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
TCP/IP allows network administrators the flexibility to decide the number of octets for the network and
host address with the help of IP address classes.

3.4 LIST and Explain IP ADDRESS CLASSES:

 IP address classes provide network administrators with the flexibility to select an IP address format
depending on the needs of the network.
 Ex:-On a network with 50 computers it is sufficient that only last octet used to represent the host
address. If a network has 2000 computers, then the last two octets should be used to represent the
host address.
 The process of determining the number of octets that represent the network and host addresses is
standardized with the use of IP address classes.
Classes –
There are currently 5 different classes of address.
a)Class A b)Class B c)Class C d)Class D e)Class E
 Class A: Network prefix is 8 bits long

sh
 Class B: Network prefix is 16 bits long

de
 Class C: Network prefix is 24 bits long

a
Pr
 Each IP address contained a key which identifies the class:

a
hr
 Class A: IP address starts with “0”

nd
 Class B: IP address starts with “10”

,A
 Class C: IP address starts with “110”

ct
tri
 Class D: IP address starts with “1110”

is
D
 Class E: IP address starts with “1111”

a
hn
ris
,K
ru
lle
va
la
ud
,G
ic
hn
ec
yt
ol
.P
.R
.S
R
V.
V.

Classfull IP Addresses - Class A:

.&

 In this class, the first octet is used for the network address, and the remaining three octets can
.M

represent a host address.

N
A.
A.

 Class A network can have up to 16,777,216(256*256*256) devices.

 Class A can have 127 different type of networks connected.
 The first octet can take a value between 1 and 127.
 Remaining 3 octets can take value from 0 to 255.
 Range of Class A is from 1.0.0.0 to 127.255.255.255
 Examples: 10.35.4.186 and 126.254.186.99 are examples of Class A addresses.
 Class A networks are used by large organizations and large ISPs with a large number of hosts.

2
Computer Networking UNIT-3
Classfull IP Addresses - Class B:
 Class B uses the first two octets for the network address and the last two octets for the host
address.

 Class B networks can have up to a maximum of 65,536 hosts (used 65,534)

 The first octet of a Class B address can range from 128 through 191.
 Remaining octets however can range from 0 through 255.
 Range of Class B is from 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.255.255
 Examples: 130.59.5.34 and 168.192.220.10
 Class B networks are also used by large organizations and universities.
 Class A and Class B addresses are mainly suited for large organizations.
The performance of the network goes down if all the computers are connected in a single network.

sh
Mainly Class A and Class B, uses huge number of hosts per network that increases the difficulty of

de
managing a network.

a
Pr
Classfull IP Addresses - Class C:

a
hr
 The first, second, and third octets are used to denote the network address in Class C while

nd
fourth octet denotes the host address

,A
ct
tri
is
D
a
hn
 Class C network can accommodate only 256 hosts (used 254).

ris
 The first octet can take a value between 192 and 223.

,K
 Remaining 3 octet can take value from 0 to 255 ru
 Range of Class C is from 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.255
lle
va

 Example--192.168.10.20 is an example of Class C address.

la

 Class C is most commonly used IP address class in LANs because most LANs do not have more
ud

than 255 hosts.

,G

Classfull IP Addresses - Class D:

ic
hn

 Class D addresses are not provided for addressing networks.

ec

 Class D addresses are used for multicast, the process of sending the same data to the multiple
yt

computers on a network or across different networks.

ol
.P
.R
.S
R
V.

 The first octet of a Class D address can range from 224 through 239.
V.

 Remaining octets however can range from 0 through 255.

.&

 Range of Class D is from 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255

.M

 Example--225.38.254.254 is an example of Class D address.

N
A.

Class Full IP Addresses - Class E:

A.

 Like class D addresses, Class E addresses are also not available for network addressing.
 In fact, Class E addresses are reserved for experimental purposes. These addresses made
available for normal use in the future.

 Range of Class E is from 240.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255

3
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
Class ranges of Internet addresses:

Range of classes:
IP address Class IP address range

Class A 1.0.0.0 to 127.255.255.255

sh
Class B 128.0.0.0 to 191.255.255.255

de
Class C 192.0.0.0 to 223.255.255.255

a
Pr
Limitations of IP address classes

a
The performance of the network goes down if all the computers are connected in a single network.

hr
Ex: Imagine an Ethernet LAN with 3,000 Computers. Ethernet broadcast the data to all hosts,

nd
and therefore, the traffic in this LAN would be extremely high resulting in poor network performance.

,A
If we connect huge number of hosts per network that increases the difficulty of managing a network.

ct
tri
Problem 1: Inflexible. Assume a company requires 10,000

is
addresses Class A and B addresses are overkill (>64,000

D
addresses)

a
hn
Class C address is insufficient

ris
Problem 2: Flat address space. Routing on the backbone Internet needs to have an entry for each

,K
network address. In 1993, the size of the routing tables started to outgrow the capacity of routers.
ru
lle
Problem 3: Too few network addresses for large networks
va

3.5 Define subnet and describe the necessity of subnetting (OR) 3.6 ILLUSTRATE Sub-Netting.
la
ud

 “Subnetting is a process of dividing large network into the smaller networks. Each of these smaller
,G

networks are called subnets.”

ic

 The process of creating subnets is called subnetting which improves the network performance.
hn

 The host part of an IP address is divided into a subnet number and a host number.
ec
yt
ol
.P
.R
.S
R
V.
V.

 The extended network prefix is also called subnet mask.

.&

 The assignment of subnets is done locally. The entire network still appears as one IP network to
.M

the outside world.

N
A.

 With subnetting, IP addresses use a 3-layer hierarchy:

A.

Network Subnet Host

 Broadcast Transmission: Transmission of data packets to multiple hosts. two types.
Limited broadcast: Host of a network transmits data packets to multiple hosts with in the n/w.
Directed broadcast: Host of a network transmits data packets to multiple host of different n/w.
 In broadcast the last IP Address value of network is used as destination IP
address(broadcast address) for the entire network.
 The first value IP address is used for network address.

4
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
Necessity of Subnetting
 Subnetting is the practice of creating smaller network chunks that use a unique series of addresses,
either to keep data inside the physical network or to funnel large numbers of addresses through a
router or bridge to a single external Internet Protocol (IP) address. Subnetting is a common practice in
network architecture and has a number of important functions.

 Subnetting is built in to the system of IP addressing. By assigning a series of computers similar IP

addresses and assigning that network the appropriate network mask, computers on that network can
communicate among each other easily. The formal networking standards for subnetting were
established in 1985 with the networking standard RFC950.

 Subnetting can help ensure network security by facilitating communication between computers on the
same subnet while preventing access from computers on other subnets. In fact, your home router works
as a security device under this principle. A public IP address on the provider side of the router allows

sh
for other Internet IPs to send information, but all of the computers behind the router use a different IP

de
address. The IP address on the home side of your router uses a subnet that is not routable, meaning

a
that its IP must be converted to the public IP of your router before the address will be transmitted

Pr
through your provider’s routers.

a
hr
nd
 Another reason that subnetting has become important is that the number of IP addresses available on a

,A
single network is limited. There are about 3 billion IP addresses available through standard IP
networking. But there are many more devices in the world that require IP addresses. By connecting

ct
tri
collections of devices on a subnet and then presenting that subnet to the Internet via a single IP using a

is
router (the way your home router works), far more than 3 billion devices can connect to the Internet.

D
a
hn
 Subnet masks define the number of bits that the network will use to assign IP addresses. In most cases,

ris
home networks use a mask of 255.255.255.0, which creates a 24-bit mask that allows up to 256

,K
addresses in a subnet. For example, if your home network is set to the non-routable network address of
ru
192.168.0.X, you would have 192.168.0.1 through 192.168.0.255 available for network devices. If you
lle
had more than 255 devices on your network, the 256th device would be unable to address the network.
va
la
ud
,G

 When setting up a subnet, consider how many devices you would like to attach to your network. If you
ic

are setting up a subnet in a larger company, a 24-bit subnet mask may not be sufficient. You might be
hn
ec

better off using a 255.255.0.0 mask instead of a 255.255.255.0 mask in order to allow up to 65,526
yt

hosts on your network instead of 255.

ol
.P
.R
.S
R
V.
V.
.&
.M
N
A.
A.

5
 Computer Networking UNIT-3

3.7 Explain Subnetting with a simple Network

 Consider a class C IP address 200.1.2.0 Last octet (0) represents host address.
 “The subnet address is created by modifying the bits of last octet”.
 Assume that the network represented by 200.1.2.0 through 200.1.2.255 needs to be divided
into 4 subnets.
 The number of bits used for subnet identification depends on the number of subnets into
which the network is divided. The number of subnets is a power of 2.
2
 Eg:-To create 4 subnets, the number 4 is represented as 2 . As a result the first 2 bits of the
last octet is modified to obtain four subnets.
n
 If n bits of an octet represent the host address, the maximum number of valid hosts is 2 -2
 In last octet with all bits as 0 represent the subnet address.(eg:-here 200.1.2.0)and 1 represent

sh
the broadcast address for the network(eg:-200.1.2.255). The first 2 bits of the last octet is

de
modified to obtain four(22) subnets.

a
Pr
IP Address: 200.1.2.00000000

a
hr
nd
n/w subnet host

,A
ct
n/w id: 200.1.2.10]000000 :n/w id

tri
200.1.2.00]000000 Subnet subnet3 “

is
D
“ 1 (0- (128- “

a
“ 200.1.2.10]111111 :Broad cast id

hn
63) 191)
Broad cast id:

ris
200.1.2.00]111111

,K
ru
lle
n/w id: 200.1.2.11]000000 :n/w id
va

200.1.2.01]000000 Subnet subnet4 “

la

“ 2 (64- (192- “
ud

“ 127) 255) 200.1.2.11]111111 :Broad cast id

,G

Broad cast id:

ic

200.1.2.01]111111
hn
ec
yt
ol
.P

s.no Subnet address in dotted- Subnet address in binary system

.R
.S

decimal
R
V.

format
V.

Subnet0 200.1.2.0 11001000.00000001.00000010.00000000

.&
.M

Subnet1 200.1.2.64 11001000.00000001.00000010.01000000

N
A.

Subnet2 200.1.2.128 11001000.00000001.00000010.10000000

A.

Subnet3 200.1.2.192 11001000.00000001.00000010.11000000

 Subnet masks are also written in dotted decimal notation, with the addition of a slash followed by
the number of bits in the network and subnet part.
 Example: The subnet 200.1.2.0 can also be represented as 200.1.2.0/26, 200.1.2.64/26,
200.1.2.128/26 26 in last part=Network ID + subnet
=24 Network ID bits+2 SubnetID bits

6
 Computer Networking UNIT-3

SUBNET MASKING:
“ Subnet mask is a mask used to determine what subnet an IP address belongs to.”
1. In binary notation:
all bits in Network ID
Subnet ID is represented by – 1’s
Host ID is represented by - 0’s
2. In decimal notation:
subnet mask value 1 to 255 - network
address value 0 [Zero] - host
address.
If we have not subnetted the network, masking extracts the network address from an IP address.
If we have subnetted, masking extracts the subnetwork address from an IP address.
a) Masking without subnetting:
To be compatible, routers use a mask even if there is no subnetting.

sh
de
Class Default SubnetMask Address(Example) Network Address (Example)

a
Pr
A 255.0.0.0 15.32.56.7 15.0.0.0

a
B 255.255.0.0 135.67.13.9 135.67.0.0

hr
nd
C 255.255.255.0 201.34.12.72 201.34.12.0

,A
ct
b) Masking with subnetting:

tri
is
Routers and hosts use subnet mask to identify the start of the host numbers.

D
a
hn
ris
,K
ru
lle
va
la
ud
,G
ic

Communication across subnets:

hn

 Hosts in one network does not communicate directly with hosts in another network. So Routers are
ec
yt

used.Router determines whether the source and destination hosts are in same subnets. If they are
ol

in different subnet, router forwards data to the respective router of that particular network.
.P

 Router uses AND operation to find in which subnet the host exists.
.R

 Consider 200.1.2.0 through 200.1.2.255 is divided into four subnets. We have to communicate
.S
R

to the destination address 200.1.2.130.

V.

 In order to communicate, we have to find its subnet address

V.

To find the subnetwork address,

.&

1. Convert destination IP Address and subnet mask into binary form.

.M
N

2. Apply AND operation to them and the result will be the subnet address.
A.

 In subnet mask-all host ID bits is represented by 0’s and all NetworkID+subnetID bits by 1’s
A.

 As per given example, NetworkID+SubnetID -26 bits(n/w-24,subnet-2) HostID -6

bits. Subnetmask for this example is

Subnetmask –1111 1111.1111 1111.1111 1111.1100 0000

Destination AND
IP address -- 1100 1000.0000 0001.0000 0010.1000 0010
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------ subnetaddress - 1100 1000.0000 0001.0000 0010.1000
0000
200 . 1
11111111.11111111.11111111.11000000 . 2 . 128

7
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
3.8 Explain Advantages and disadvantages of subnetting
Subnetting: Dividing a network into many small Networks is known as Subnetting.
Advantages of Subnetting:
 Subnetting breaks large network into smaller network because smaller networks are easier to manage.
 Subnetting reduces network traffic by removing collision and broadcast traffic, that overall
improve performance.
 Subnetting allows you to save money by reducing requirement for IP range.
 It reduces network traffic by lowering the number of broadcasts sent out.

 It helps overcome limitations in a local area network (LAN), such as the maximum number of allowed
hosts.

 It allows people to connect to a work network from their homes without having to open the entire network.

 It protects one network from the intrusion of another. For example, the Developer department's code must

sh
not be accessible by any other department in an organization.

ade
Pr
 Some subnets may require higher network priority than others. A sales department, for example, may need

a
to host webcasts or video conferences.

hr
nd
 Maintenance is simple in the case of small networks.

,A
Subnet considerations:

ct
tri
The following factors are to be for dividing a network into subnets:

is
1) Number of subnets required(defined by exponent of 2, i.e; 2 subnetIdbits)

D
a
2) Number of subnets required in future

hn
3) Number of hosts in the largest network.(2 hostIDbits)

ris
Subnet limitations:

,K
1) Limitation on the number of hosts that can be accommodated in a single subnet.
ru
lle
2) Wastage of host address in subnets.
va
la
ud

Disadvantages of Subnetting
,G
ic

Subnetting has certain drawbacks in addition to its benefits −

hn
ec

 To reach a Process in a single network, there are only three steps −

yt
ol

o Source Host to Destination Network,

.P
.R

o Destination Network to Destination Host, and then

.S
R

o Destination Host to Process.

V.
V.

 Subnetting, on the other hand, necessitates four phases for Inter Network Communication. The steps are −
.&

o Source Host to Destination Network,

.M
N

Destination Network to appropriate Subnet,

A.

o
A.

o Subnet to Host, and finally,

o Host to Process.

3.9 Describe the Internet protocol Addressing

3.9.1pv4
IP stands for Internet Protocol and v4 stands for Version Four (IPv4). IPv4 was the primary version brought
into action for production within the ARPANET in 1983.
IP version four addresses are 32-bit integers which will be expressed in decimal notation.

Example- 192.0.2.126 could be an IPv4 address.

8
 Computer Networking UNIT-3

Parts of IPv4
Network part:
The network part indicates the distinctive variety that’s appointed to the network. The network part conjointly
identifies the category of the network that’s assigned.
Host Part:
The host part uniquely identifies the machine on your network. This part of the IPv4 address is assigned to
every host.
For each host on the network, the network part is the same, however, the host half must vary.
Subnet number:
This is the nonobligatory part of IPv4. Local networks that have massive numbers of hosts are divided into
subnets and subnet numbers are appointed to that.
Characteristics of IPv4
 IPv4 could be a 32-Bit IP Address.
 IPv4 could be a numeric address, and its bits are separated by a dot.
 The number of header fields is twelve and the length of the header field is twenty.

sh
 It has Unicast, broadcast, and multicast style of addresses.

de
 IPv4 supports VLSM (Virtual Length Subnet Mask).

a
Pr
 IPv4 uses the Post Address Resolution Protocol to map to the MAC address.

a
 RIP may be a routing protocol supported by the routed daemon.

hr
 Networks ought to be designed either manually or with DHCP.

nd
 Packet fragmentation permits from routers and causing host.

,A
Advantages of IPv4

ct
 IPv4 security permits encryption to keep up privacy and security.

tri
 IPV4 network allocation is significant and presently has quite 85000 practical routers.

is
D
 It becomes easy to attach multiple devices across an outsized network while not NAT.

a
 This is a model of communication so provides quality service also as economical knowledge transfer.

hn
 IPV4 addresses are redefined and permit flawless encoding.

ris
 Routing is a lot of scalable and economical as a result of addressing is collective more effectiv ely.

,K
 Data communication across the network becomes a lot of specific in multicast organizations.
ru
 Limits net growth for existing users and hinders the use of the net for brand new users.
lle
va

 Internet Routing is inefficient in IPv4.

la

 IPv4 has high System Management prices and it’s labor-intensive, complex, slow & frequent to errors.
ud

 Security features are nonobligatory.

,G

 Difficult to feature support for future desires as a result of adding it on is extremely high overhead since it
ic

hinders the flexibility to attach everything over IP.

hn
ec

3.9.2 Ipv6
yt

 IPv6 or Internet Protocol Version 6 is a network layer protocol that allows communication to take place
ol
.P

over the network. IPv6 was designed by Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in December 1998 with
.R

the purpose of superseding the IPv4 due to the global exponentially growing internet users.
.S

 An IPv6 address consists of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits. Here’s an example IPv6 address:
R
V.

3001:0da8:75a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
V.
.&

 This new IP address version is being deployed to fulfill the need for more Internet addresses. It was
aimed to resolve issues which are associated with IPv4. With 128-bit address space, it allows 340
.M

undecillion unique address space. IPv6 also called IPng (Internet Protocol next generation).
N
A.
A.

Types of IPv6 Address

 Now that we know about what is IPv6 address let’s take a look at its different types.
Unicast addresses:It identifies a unique node on a network and usually refers to a single sender or a single
receiver.
Multicast addresses:It represents a group of IP devices and can only be used as the destination of a
datagram.
Anycast addresses:It is assigned to a set of interfaces that typically belong to different nodes.

Advantages of IPv6
 Reliability
 Faster Speeds: IPv6 supports multicast rather than broadcast in IPv4.This feature allows bandwidth -
intensive packet flows (like multimedia streams) to be sent to multiple destinations all at once.
 Stringer Security: IPSecurity, which provides confidentiality, and data integrity, is embedded into IPv6.
 Routing efficiency

9
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
 Most importantly it’s the final solution for growing nodes in Global-network.
Disadvantages of IPv6
 Conversion: Due to widespread present usage of IPv4 it will take a long period to completely shift to
IPv6.
 Communication: IPv4 and IPv6 machines cannot communicate directly with each other. They need an
intermediate technology to make that possible.

3.10 Need For Ipv6/ Features of IPv6:

1) Scarcity of IPv4 Addresses:
 The IPv4 addressing system uses 32-bit address space. 32-bit address space allows for
4,294,967,296 IPv4 addresses, but Many addresses which are allocated to many companies
were not used and this created scarcity of IPv4 addresses.
 Because of scarcity, many organizations implemented NAT (Network Address Translation) to
map multiple private IPv4 addresses to a single public IPv4 address. But NAT also have many
limitations. NAT do not support network layer security standards

sh
de
2) Larger address space: An IPV6 address is 128 bit long.

a
3) New options: IPV6 has new options to allow for additional functionalities.

Pr
a
4) Allowance for extension: IPV6 is designed to allow the extension of the protocol if required by new

hr
nd
technologies or applications.

,A
5) Security: It offers built-in support to IPSec (Internet Protocol Security). The encryption

ct
and decryption authentication option in IPV6 provide confidentiality of packet.

tri
is
6) Supports mobile users: A user can use the same IP address to connect from different locations.

D
7) Supports Anycasting: Anycasting is used to regulate traffic as well as to increase the speed

a
hn
of accessing web sites.

ris
8) Built-in support for auto configuration: IPv6 compatible devices with IPv6 installed on them
,K
ru
can create their own IP Address using the MAC address & obtaining the n/w address.
lle
9) Quality of service (QoS): Quality of Service (QoS) is available in IPv6 and it relies on the 8 bits of
va

the IPv4 Type of Service (TOS) field and the identification of the payload. IPv4 Type of Service (TOS)
la
ud

field has limited functionality and payload identification is not possible when the IPv4 datagram
,G

packet payload is encrypted.

ic
hn

3.11Explain about Classful Addressing and Classless Addressing in IPv4:

ec
yt

Classful Addressing in IPv4: REFER 3.4

ol
.P
.R

Classless Addressing in IPv4:

.S
R

Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR):

V.
V.

 CIDR does not follow the convention of IP address classes. The use of IP address classes results
.&

in lots of wasted addresses. The shortage of IP addresses was prevented by CIDR.

.M

 Classless Inter Domain Routing provides the flexibility of borrowing bits of Host part of the
N

IP address
A.
A.

 “CIDR allows variable number of bits to represent a network address.” Therefore, CIDR
provides more flexibility in allocating IP addresses for networks than classfull addressing.
Example: CIDR address 132.168.26.32/18.
Here,the first 18 bits represent- network
address the last 14 bits represent-host
address.
This IP address can’t be categorized as class A, class B or class C.
 CIDR allows allocation of IP addresses that are suited to the actual requirement of the network.
Example: Imagine a network with 32 hosts. Now the network would need to use a class C
address, such as 200.1.2.3 and as a result, 223 IP addresses would be wasted. On the other hand, with CIDR
address, only the last 5 bits (25=32) are allocated for the host addresses. Therefore, a CIDR address such as
200.1.2.3/27 can be assigned to the network.

10
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
3.12 Describe Internet Protocol Version6 (IPV6) addressing
IPV6 was developed to address the limitations of IPV4. The limitation of IPV4 is that it uses 32-
bit addressing. To overcome this space limitation of IPV4, IPV6 uses a 128-bit addressing.
IPV6 (Internetworking Protocol Version6), also known as IPng (Internetworking Protocol, next
generation) was proposed.
 IPV6 contains a total of 8 blocks each containing 16 bits.
 Each block is then converted into 4-digit Hexadecimal numbers separated by colon symbols.
 Each block is separated by ‘:’ symbol:
Ex: 2 0 0 1 : cdba : 0000 : 0000 : 0000 : 0000 : 3257

0010 0000 0000 0001:1100 1101 1011 1010:0000 0000 0000 0000:0000 0000 0000 0000:0000 0000 0000
0000: 0000 0000 0000 0000: 0011 0010 0101 0111

sh
:9652

de
a
1001 0110 0101 0010

Pr
a
hr
 The format of IPv6 address is

nd
,A
xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx
 where each x is a hexadecimal digit representing 4 bits or a nibble.

ct
tri
 IPv6 addresses range from

is
D
0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000 to ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff:ffff.

a
hn
ris
An IPv6 address can be simplified by the following two methods.

,K
Omit leading zeros: Omit the leading zeros in any 16-bits.
ru
Example: IPv6 address 2001:0DB8:0000:0000:0022:F376:FF3B:AC99 may be written
lle
as 2001: DB8: 0 : 0 : 22:F376:FF3B:AC99.
va

Double colon: Use double colons (::) in place of a series of zeros.

la
ud

Example: The above address can be further simplified as 2001:DB8::22:F376:FF3B:AC99.

,G
ic

Types of IPv6 Addresses:

hn

IPv6 addresses are broadly classified into 4 categories:

ec
yt

1. Unicast addresses:
ol


.P

Unicast is a type of communication where data is sent from one computer to another computer.
.R

 Unicast is a one-to-one type of network communication. Different data streams are generated for
.S

each Unicast connection.

R
V.

 In Unicast type of communication, there is only one sender, and only one receiver.
V.

Example:
.&

1. Browsing a website. (Webserver is the sender and your computer is the receiver.)
.M

2. Downloading a file from a FTP Server. (FTP Server is the sender and your computer is the receiver.)
N
A.
A.

2. Multicast addresses:
 Multicast is a type of communication where multicast traffic addressed for a group of devices on the
network.
 IPv6 multicast traffic are sent to a group and only members of that group receive the Multicast traffic.
 IPv6 Multicast Groups are identified by IPv6 Multicast Addresses.

3. Anycast addresses:
 Anycast is a type of IPv6 network communication in which IPv6 datagrams from a source are routed
to the nearest device (in terms of routing distance) from a group servers which provide the same
service. Every nodes which provide the same service are configured with same Anycast destination
address.

11
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
4. Loopback:
 Used by a node to send an IPv6 packet to itself. An IPv6 loopback address functions the same
as an IPv4 loopback address. The IPv6 loopback address is
0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0001/128, which can be also represented as ::1.
Unicast addressing:
1. An IPv6 unicast address is used to identify a single interface in a node. Also called Global unicast address.
2. An IPv6 Unicast address identifies only one node in networks. Global Unicast Addresses are similar
to IPv4 public addresses.
3. Global Unicast Addresses are globally routable addresses on IPv6 Internet.
4. RFC 3587 states that out of the 128 bits in IPv6 addresses, left most three bits are must be fixed as 001.
5. Remaining 45 bits are reserved for global routing prefix (n/w address). 16 bits after that can be used for
subnetting and the 64 remaining bits are the host bits.
6. The first fixed three bits (001) and the 45-bit global routing prefix (45+3 = 48 bits) together can be

sh
assigned to an organization as their IPv6 prefix.

de
7. Since the leftmost three bits are reserved as "001" for Global unicast IPv6 addresses, the range of

a
Pr
Global Unicast Addresses available now are from 2000 to 3FFF, as shown below.

a
128-bits

hr
nd
,A
64-bits 64-bits

ct
tri
48-bits

is
D
a
hn
ris
,K
ru
lle
va
la
ud
,G
ic
hn
ec

 The prefix is the part of the IPv6 address that indicates the network.
yt

 Which means that, currently first 48 bits of an IPv6 address are used to identify the
ol
.P

network globally.
.R

 The next 16 bits are used for subnetting (which makes 48+16=64 bits, network part) and
.S

the remaining 64 bits are used for identifying the hosts (host part).
R
V.

Multicast Addressing:
V.
.&

 A IPv6 multicast address identifies multiple interfaces.

.M

 A multicast transmission sends packets to all interfaces that are part of a multicast group.
N
A.

FF02:: All nodes on the local network segment

A.

1
FF02:: All routers on the local network segment
2
Anycast Addressing:
 Anycast type of IPv6 addresses can be used only as destination addresses.
 Anycast type of IPv6 addresses are typically assigned only to IPv6 routers. Anycast addresses
are from IPv6 unicast address range.

12
 Computer Networking UNIT-3
IPv6 header format:

 Version (4-bit)- version number of Internet Protocol = 6.

sh
Traffic class (8-bits)-It is used for Type of Service to let the Router Known what services should

de

be provided to this packet.

a
Pr
 Flow label (20-bit field) - This label is used to maintain the sequential flow of the packets belonging to

a
a communication. The source labels the sequence to help the router identify that a particular packet

hr
nd
belongs to a specific flow of information.

,A
 Payload length (16-bits)-This field is used to tell the routers how much information a particular
packet contains in its payload

ct
Next header(8-bits)-Identifies the type of header that immediately follows the IPv6 header. Uses the

tri


is
same values as the IPv4 protocol field.

D
 Hop limit(8-bits)-This field is used to stop packet to loop in the network infinitely.

a
hn
 Source address(128 bits.)-The address of the initial sender of the packet.

ris
 Destination address(128 bits-The address of the intended recipient of the packet.

,K
EXTRA TOPIC
ru
lle
va

Classify the Two Types Of Internet Protocol Addressing Ipv4 & Ipv6:
la

IPv4 IPv6
ud

IPv4 addresses are 32 bit length. IPv6 addresses are 128 bit length.
,G
ic

IPv4 addresses are binary IPv6 addresses are binary numbers represented
hn

numbers represented in decimals. in hexadecimals.

ec

IPSec support is only optional. Inbuilt IPSec support.

yt
ol

Fragmentation is done by sender and

.P

Fragmentation is done only by sender.

.R

forwarding routers.
.S

Packet flow identification is available within the IPv6

R

No packet flow identification.

V.

header using the Flow Label field.

V.

Checksum field is available in IPv4 header No checksum field in IPv6 header.

.&

No option fields, but IPv6 Extension headers are

.M

Options fields are available in IPv4 header.

available.
N
A.

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is available Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is replaced with a
A.

to map IPv4 addresses to MAC addresses. function of Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP).
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP)
is used to manage multicast group IGMP is replaced with Multicast Listener
Discovery (MLD) messages.
membership.
Broadcast messages are not available. Instead a link-
Broadcast messages are available. local scope "All nodes" multicast IPv6 address
(FF02::1)
is used for broadcast similar functionality.
Manual configuration (Static) of IPv4
addresses or DHCP (Dynamic configuration) Auto-configuration of addresses is available.
is
required to configure IPv4 addresses.

13