{"id":2197,"date":"2017-08-09T19:07:01","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T19:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/live-infoblox-blog.pantheonsite.io\/?p=2197"},"modified":"2025-04-02T11:28:18","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T18:28:18","slug":"fe80-1-is-a-perfectly-valid-ipv6-default-gateway-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infoblox.com\/blog\/ipv6-coe\/fe80-1-is-a-perfectly-valid-ipv6-default-gateway-address\/","title":{"rendered":"FE80::1 is a Perfectly Valid IPv6 Default Gateway Address"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a recent article, I wrote about some of the\u00a0common questions that IPv6 novices sometimes ask<\/a>.\u00a0 We then asked the question, \u201cWhat are the typical questions you get when teaching an IPv6<\/strong><\/a> class?\u201d\u00a0 Frequently, IPv6 instructors field questions from their students about IPv6 link-local addresses and how they work.\u00a0 This article builds upon the\u00a0IPv6 newbie questions<\/em>\u00a0theme and covers a couple of the IPv6 addressing nuances that are often surprising to IPv6 neophytes (and sometimes IPv6 veterans, too!).<\/p>\n

Frequently Unicast, Sometimes Multicast, but Never Broadcast<\/h2>\n

It is relatively easy to grasp the concept that unicast addresses are used for one-to-one communications.\u00a0 Public IPv4<\/strong><\/a> addresses are familiar to most, so grasping IPv6\u2019s\u00a0global unicast addresses<\/a>\u00a0(GUA) (2000::\/3) is straightforward.\u00a0 Regardless of whether your organization\u2019s public IPv4 or global IPv6 addresses are provided by an\u00a0RIR<\/a>\u00a0or your upstream ISP, they are free to be used to source and receive Internet communications.<\/p>\n

Most enterprise organizations use private IPv4 addresses (e.g., 192.168.0.0\/16, 172.16.0.0\/12, or 10.0.0.0\/8) for their internal networks.\u00a0 However, with IPv6, beginners discover that FD00::\/8\u00a0Unique Local Addresses<\/a>\u00a0(ULAs) exist for private network addressing, although their use is not generally recommended.\u00a0 You are encouraged to read\u00a0RFC 4864, Local Network Protection for IPv6<\/a>, to learn about why you do not need private addresses for your internal networks and why you subsequently do not need NAT for IPv6. Please also read\u00a0Tom Coffeen\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0eloquent blogs (part 1<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0part 2<\/a>) on \u201c3 Ways to Ruin Your Future Network with IPv6\u00a0Unique Local Addresses<\/a>\u201d.\u00a0Additional resources, such as an IPv6 Center of Excellence<\/strong><\/a>, can provide invaluable guidance on implementing best practices for IPv6 adoption. This is also a topic that we discuss in our\u00a0IPv6 COE Podcast #3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many people are familiar with how\u00a0multicast addresses<\/a>\u00a0are used for one-to-many communications.\u00a0 IPv4 multicast addresses (historically referred to as Class D addresses) are within the\u00a0224.0.0.0\/4 range<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0IPv6 multicast addresses<\/a>\u00a0start with the two most-significant hex digits \u201cFF\u201d and have the format FF00::\/8.\u00a0 After the \u201cFF\u201d, the next 4 bits of the address represents the flag value, and the following 4 bits of the address is the scope of the range of the multicast message.\u00a0 IPv6 multicast addresses can be used for\u00a0link-local LAN communications<\/a>\u00a0or they can be scoped for site-specific communications or even global use.\u00a0 An IPv6 multicast address for\u00a0well-known link-local messages<\/a>\u00a0would start with \u201cFF02\u201d and you may recognize that FF02::1 is the all-nodes link-local multicast group address.<\/p>\n

Only IPv4 has\u00a0broadcast<\/a>\u00a0as a method of sending one packet to ALL nodes on the current LAN.\u00a0 Whether the packet\u2019s destination address is 255.255.255.255 and intended for all hosts in the entire broadcast domain or a\u00a0broadcast address<\/a>\u00a0limited to a specific subnet (e.g., 192.168.1.255), both are converted to an \u201call-ones\u201d layer-2 MAC address FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF.\u00a0 Broadcast packets are sent out all Ethernet switch ports, regardless of whether or not there are any hosts on the attached segments that need or want the broadcasted messages.\u00a0 On the other hand, IPv6 doesn\u2019t use the broadcast method of packet delivery so there is no equivalent IPv6 address type.\u00a0 IPv6 networks will never use broadcasts on a LAN.\u00a0 However, sending an IPv6 packet to the all-nodes link-local multicast group address (FF02::1) comes close to that functionality.<\/p>\n

Link-Local Addresses and Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)<\/h2>\n

The concepts of unicast, multicast, and broadcast and their accompanying addresses are familiar to IPv4 experts.\u00a0 However, there is one less-popular address type that can be used for unicast communications on a confined LAN segment.\u00a0 The caveat with these addresses is that they are only locally-significant (i.e., restricted to a single LAN broadcast domain) and are never used to source or receive communications across a layer-3 gateway.<\/p>\n

When first learning about IPv6, students are often surprised by the fact that IPv6 has another address type that is much different from the IPv4 address types that they are already familiar with: the\u00a0link-local address<\/a>. Understanding link-local addresses is an essential step in achieving IPV6 Readiness<\/strong><\/a> for modern networks. Typically,\u00a0link-local IPv6 addresses<\/a>\u00a0have \u201cFE80\u201d as the hexadecimal representation of the first 10 bits of the 128-bit IPv6 address, then the least-significant 64-bits of the address are the Interface Identifier (IID).\u00a0 Depending on the IID algorithm the node\u2019s operating system is using, the IID may use either\u00a0modified EUI-64<\/a>\u00a0with SLAAC, the privacy addressing method (RFC 4941<\/a>), or the newly published Stable SLAAC IID method (RFC 8064<\/a>).<\/p>\n

When a host boots up, it automatically assigns an FE80::\/10 IPv6 address to its interface.\u00a0Tools like Network Insight<\/strong><\/a> enable administrators to monitor and analyze the behavior of IPv6 link-local addresses effectively. You can see the format of the link-local address below. It starts with FE80 and is followed by 54 bits of zeros. Lastly, the final 64-bits provide the unique Interface Identifier.<\/p>\n

FE80:0000:0000:0000:abcd:abcd:abcd:abcd<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you want to learn more about link-local IPv6 addresses and their usage on a LAN, please read the latest edition of Rick Graziani\u2019s book \u201cIPv6 Fundamentals: A Straightforward Approach to Understanding IPv6<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Many people get confused about IPv6 link-local addresses when they are first learning about IPv6 because there isn\u2019t really any IPv4 equivalent of this type of IPv6 address.\u00a0 However, the only thing that comes close to IPv6 link-local addresses is the IPv4\u00a0Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) method<\/a>.\u00a0 When a host fails to obtain an IPv4 address with DHCP, it resigns itself to its fate of being incommunicado, and assigns its interface an APIPA address.\u00a0 You have surely witnessed (likely in a moment of exasperated troubleshooting!) a host with an IPv4 address in the 169.254.0.0\/16 range (see\u00a0RFC 3927<\/a>).\u00a0 Like IPv6 link-local addresses, these APIPA addresses are usable addresses for unicast communications within a single broadcast domain on the LAN.<\/p>\n

Link-Local Address as Default Gateway<\/h2>\n

Link-local IPv6 addresses are on every interface of every IPv6-enabled host and router.\u00a0 They are essential for LAN-based\u00a0Neighbor Discovery<\/a>\u00a0communication.\u00a0 After the host has gone through the\u00a0Duplicate Address Detection<\/a>\u00a0(DAD) process ensuring that its link-local address (and associated IID) is unique on the LAN segment, it then proceeds to sending an\u00a0ICMPv6<\/a>\u00a0Router Solicitation (RS) message sourced from that address.<\/p>\n

Even routers use link-local addresses on each of their own interfaces.\u00a0 When the router receives the host\u2019s Router Solicitation (RS) message (sent in the attempt to find any router available on the link and to reach the rest of the network), the router immediately replies with an ICMPv6\u00a0Router Advertisement<\/a>\u00a0(RA) message.\u00a0 That RA message is also sourced from the router\u2019s own link-local address.\u00a0 When the host receives the RA message, it reads the contents, follows the address configuration method indicated in the packet, and, in the case where SLAAC is the address configuration method, uses the RA-included IPv6 \/64 prefix to configure a globally-scoped address.\u00a0 The host will then use the router\u2019s link-local address (and MAC contained in the RA) as its\u00a0default gateway<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At this point, that host would have used this router\u2019s link-local IPv6 address as the next-hop address for the 0::\/0 IPv6 default route.\u00a0 After inspecting the host\u2019s routing table, IPv6 greenhorns are often surprised to find that a link-local address is the next-hop address for that route.\u00a0 They then might exclaim \u201cHow can that be?!\u201d\u00a0 The retort is \u201cKeep Calm and<\/a>\u00a0Learn Link-Local.\u201d<\/p>\n

The link-local address might be understood as an address used as a kind of stand-in address \u2013 one that \u00a0indicates the link that should be used to reach the next hop.\u00a0 The host will still send packets sourced from its own global address and destined for the global address of the target.\u00a0 However, the link-local address in the routing table is used to map to the next-hop\u2019s MAC address in the neighbor cache.\u00a0 The link-local address is not used as a destination address of any of the host\u2019s off-net packets, but rather, is just a way for the host to learn the MAC address of the next-hop router that will forward the host\u2019s IPv6 packets onward to the destination address.\u00a0 The host just needs to get the packet started on its hop-by-hop journey toward its destination (and getting the packet to the default gateway is the first step).<\/p>\n

Fledgling IPv6 engineers might be initially alarmed by the fact that the router\u2019s link-local address is a perfectly valid next-hop address.\u00a0 But over time, an understanding of the\u00a0neighbor discovery cache<\/a>\u00a0solidifies and this configuration becomes an accepted norm.\u00a0 This fact is also reinforced when you observe the IPv6 unicast routing table on any router, and you immediately see the link-local addresses of its next-hop routers.\u00a0 Routers do not modify the source or destination global unicast address in the packets, but they do use the next-hop link-local addresses as a way to get the packet forwarded across a link onward to the packet\u2019s ultimate destination.<\/p>\n

Locally-Administered Link-Local Addresses<\/h2>\n

The other surprising fact that IPv6 rookies may discover is that the same link-local address can be used on a node\u2019s multiple interfaces.\u00a0 This is because, typically, each node\u2019s interface is presumably connected to a different \u201clink.\u201d\u00a0 Therefore, the local-significance rule of the addresses means that, so long at the IID of the link-local address is unique on that segment, all is right with the world.<\/p>\n

IPv6 nodes use either EUI-64, privacy addressing, or stable-SLAAC to derive the IID (i.e., the last 64 bits) of the link-local address.\u00a0 In either case, the IID is not easy to remember and may require cutting and pasting if used in a static configuration.\u00a0 The same link-local IID dilemma exists for routers and other middle-boxes like firewalls and load-balancers.\u00a0 In these situations, we may need to statically configure the next-hop IPv6 address for a static route or for the default gateway on a host.\u00a0 Therefore, we want a way to make things easy on ourselves when it comes to the configuration we choose to use.<\/p>\n

One method to make things easier is to manually assign the link-local address to the upstream router\u2019s interfaces.\u00a0 If you assign the link-local address FE80::1 on each of its interfaces and if that link-local address is unique on each of those LAN segments, then this becomes the default gateway for the hosts on those LANs.\u00a0 Therefore, each host, no matter on which LAN, will see FE80::1 as the next-hop IPv6 address for the default route in its routing table.\u00a0 The picture below illustrates this idea of using locally-administered link-local addresses.\u00a0 In the case of servers with statically assigned IPv6 addresses and default gateways, this can make things simpler for the system administrator.<\/p>\n

\"Link-Local<\/p>\n

Summary<\/h2>\n

Link-local IPv6 addresses may be initially confusing when you\u2019re first learning about IPv6. But you will quickly become familiar with how they work and appreciate their functionality.\u00a0 At first, it may seem strange to use a link-local IPv6 address as a next-hop address for a static route or as a default gateway router in a host\u2019s routing table.\u00a0 However, there are methods such as locally-administered link-local addresses that can dramatically simplify this static configuration.\u00a0 It\u2019s just another way in which IPv6 can be simpler than the legacy IPv4 protocol.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a recent article, I wrote about some of the\u00a0common questions that IPv6 novices sometimes ask.\u00a0 We then asked the question, \u201cWhat are the typical questions you get when teaching an IPv6 class?\u201d\u00a0 Frequently, IPv6 instructors field questions from their students about IPv6 link-local addresses and how they work.\u00a0 This article builds upon the\u00a0IPv6 newbie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":321,"featured_media":2052,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[38,31,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-2197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ipv6-coe","8":"tag-ipv6","9":"tag-networking","10":"tag-protocols","11":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFE80::1 is a Perfectly Valid IPv6 Default Gateway Address<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This article builds upon the IPv6 newbie questions theme & covers a couple of the IPv6 addressing nuances that are often surprising. 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