Windows 7 / Networking

Understanding IPv6 Addressing

IPv6 uses 128-bit (16-byte) addresses that are expressed in colon-hexadecimal form. For example, in the address 2001:DB8:3FA9:0000:0000:0000:00D3:9C5A, each block of 4-digit hexadecimal numbers represents a 16-bit digit binary number. The eight blocks of four-digit hexadecimal numbers thus equal 8 x 16 = 128 bits in total.

You can shorten colon-hexadecimal addresses by suppressing leading zeros for each block. Using this technique, the representation for the preceding address now becomes 2001:DB8:3FA9:0:0:0:D3:9C5A.

You can shorten colon-hexadecimal addresses even further by compressing contiguous 0 (hex) blocks as double colons ("::"). The address in this example thus shortens to 2001:DB8:3FA9::D3:9C5A. Note that only one double colon can be used per IPv6 address to ensure unambiguous representation.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Deploying IPv6
  2. Understanding IPv6
  3. Understanding IPv6 Terminology
  4. Understanding IPv6 Addressing
  5. Understanding IPv6 Prefixes
  6. Understanding IPv6 Address Types
  7. Understanding Unicast Addresses
  8. Identifying IPv6 Address Types
  9. Understanding Interface Identifiers
  10. Comparing IPv6 with IPv4
  11. Understanding IPv6 Routing
  12. How IPv6 Routing Works
  13. IPv6 Route Determination Process
  14. IPv6 Routing Table Structure
  15. Understanding ICMPv6 Messages
  16. Understanding Neighbor Discovery
  17. Understanding Address Autoconfiguration
  18. Understanding Name Resolution
  19. Understanding Name Queries
  20. Understanding Name Registration
  21. PTR Records and IPv6
  22. IPv6 Enhancements in Windows 7
  23. Summary of IPv6 Enhancements in Windows 7
  24. Configuring and Troubleshooting IPv6 in Windows 7
  25. Configuring IPv6 in Windows 7 Using the User Interface
  26. Configuring IPv6 in Windows 7 Using Netsh
  27. Other IPv6 Configuration Tasks
  28. Enabling or Disabling IPv6
  29. Disabling Random Interface IDs
  30. Resetting IPv6 Configuration
  31. Displaying Teredo Client Status
  32. Troubleshooting IPv6 Connectivity
  33. Planning for IPv6 Migration
  34. Blocking Teredo
  35. Understanding ISATAP
  36. Migrating an Intranet to IPv6
  37. Step 1: Upgrading Your Applications and Services
  38. Step 2: Preparing Your DNS Infrastructure
  39. Step 3: Upgrading Your Hosts
  40. Step 4: Migrating from IPv4-only to ISATAP
  41. Step 5: Upgrading Your Routing Infrastructure
  42. Step 6: Upgrading Your DHCP Infrastructure
  43. Step 7: Migrating from ISATAP to Native IPv6
  44. The Advantages of IPv6
  45. Address Resolution in IPv6