Question

Difficulty: MediumIPv6 Addressing Concepts and Header Structure

A network engineer is analyzing protocol analyzer traces and configuration files during an IPv6 deployment. The engineer needs to verify the operational mechanics of the IPv6 base header and validate IPv6 address formatting rules. Which of the following statements correctly describe the characteristics of the IPv6 base header or valid IPv6 address compression mechanics? (Select TWO.)

  1. The Next Header field specifies the protocol type of the encapsulated payload or identifies an incoming extension header, serving a function equivalent to the IPv4 Protocol field.Answer
  2. B
    The double-colon (::) shorthand notation can be used up to two times in a single IPv6 address provided each instance replaces distinct contiguous blocks of zeros.
  3. The Hop Limit field is an 8-bit field decremented by each router that forwards the packet, replacing the IPv4 Time to Live (TTL) field to prevent routing loops.Answer
  4. D
    The IPv6 base header length varies dynamically between 20 bytes and 60 bytes depending on whether Traffic Class or Flow Label fields are populated.

Answer

The correct statements are that the Next Header field specifies the protocol type of the encapsulated payload or extension header (equivalent to the IPv4 Protocol field) and the Hop Limit field is decremented at each router hop to replace the IPv4 Time to Live (TTL) field.
The statements describing Next Header as the equivalent of IPv4 Protocol and Hop Limit as the 8-bit replacement for IPv4 TTL are technically correct. Next Header defines the encapsulated layer 4 payload or extension header, while Hop Limit is decremented by 1 at each router to stop loop propagation.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Evaluate the statement regarding the Next Header field function.
Identified that Next Header points directly to the next protocol (e.g., TCP value 6, UDP value 17) or an extension header, matching IPv4 Protocol field functionality.
IPv6 simplified the header structure by replacing variable IPv4 options with chained extension headers referenced by the Next Header field.
2
Evaluate IPv6 address compression rules for zero suppression.
Recognized that using double-colons twice in one address renders the expanded length ambiguous.
RFC 4291 and RFC 5952 mandate that the double-colon notation (::) can appear only once in an IPv6 address string.
3
Evaluate the role and field size of Hop Limit.
Confirmed Hop Limit is an 8-bit field replacing TTL for loop control.
Routers discard packets when Hop Limit reaches zero, preventing infinite loop transmission.
4
Evaluate the IPv6 base header length specification.
Confirmed the IPv6 base header size is strictly fixed at 40 bytes.
Unlike IPv4 headers which range from 20 to 60 bytes due to inline options, IPv6 keeps a fixed 40-byte base header for fast hardware processing.

Key Concept

IPv6 Header Fields and Compression Syntax Rules
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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