128-bit addresses, the eight 16-bit hextets, address types, EUI-64, SLAAC, and dual-stack operation. This chapter teaches just enough IPv6 to read an address, configure an interface, and work confidently with it in practice.
An IPv6 address is 128 bits, written as eight 16-bit hexadecimal groups separated by colons. Example: 2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:ff00:0042:8329.
Two compression rules: leading zeros in any hextet may be dropped, and exactly one run of all-zero hextets may be replaced by '::'. The address above compresses to 2001:db8::ff00:42:8329.
| Type | Prefix | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Global unicast | 2000::/3 | Public Internet routable |
| Unique local (ULA) | fc00::/7 (typically fd00::/8) | Private — RFC 1918 equivalent |
| Link-local | fe80::/10 | On-link only, every interface auto-generates one |
| Multicast | ff00::/8 | One-to-many delivery |
| Loopback | ::1/128 | 127.0.0.1 equivalent |
| Unspecified | ::/128 | Source address before assignment |
2 more sections in this chapter, plus a 3-question quiz.
You can see the title, summary, learning objectives and the opening sections. The rest of this chapter, like all of modules 2–8, comes with the Course & Lab Pass and All-Access Max. A free account opens Module 1: Network Foundations end-to-end and saves your labs — start there, no card required.
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