TABLE OF CONTENTS IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration (RFC 2462) specifies procedures by which a node may autoconfigure addresses, based on router advertisements and the use of a valid lifetime to support renumbering of addresses on the Internet. In addition, the protocol interaction by which a node begins stateless or stateful autoconfiguration is specified. DHCP is one vehicle to perform stateful auto configuration; compatibility with stateless address autoconfiguration is a design requirement of DHCP[DRO200301].
As we have seen in previous section, the IPv6 protocol can use two address configuration methods: (1) automatic configuration and (2) manual configuration. Autoconfigured addresses exist in one or more of the states depicted in Figure 7.13: tentative, preferred, deprecated, valid (= preferred + deprecated), and, invalid. IPv6 nodes (hosts and routers) automatically create unique link-local addresses for all LAN interfaces that appear to be Ethernet interfaces. IPv6 hosts use received Router Advertisement messages to automatically configure the following parameters [MSD200401].
A default router
The default setting for the Hop Limit field in the IPv6 header.
The timers used in Neighbor Discovery processes.
The MTU of the local link.
The list of network prefixes that are defined for the link. Each network prefix contains both the IPv6 network prefix and its valid and preferred lifetimes. If indicated, a network prefix is combined with the interface identifier to create a stateless IPv6 address configuration for the receiving interface. A network prefix also defines the range of addresses for nodes on the local link.
6to4 addresses on a 6to4...
