RFC 2460

RFC 2460
Title	RFC 2460
Subject	Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification
Author	S. Deering, R. Hinden
Published	December 1998
Status	Internet Standard (Historic)

RFC 2460

RFC 2460 specifies the Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) core packet format and processing rules. It defines the base header, extension headers, addressing architecture, and minimum requirements for forwarding and fragmentation for interoperability among implementations. The document situates IPv6 within the broader Internet Engineering Task Force development of Internet protocols and relates to contemporaneous standards and deployments.

Overview

RFC 2460 defines the packet structure and semantics for IPv6 to succeed the earlier IPv4 specification, addressing limitations noted in transition work such as scalability, address exhaustion, and mobilty. The specification interacts with standards work by the Internet Engineering Task Force, Internet Architecture Board, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, and relates to operational entities such as ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC, IANA allocations and registries. The design influences networking hardware vendors including Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, IBM, Intel Corporation, Dell Technologies, and software platforms from Microsoft, Apple Inc., Google, Red Hat, and FreeBSD implementations.

Technical Specifications

RFC 2460 prescribes a fixed-size basic header with fields for version, traffic class, flow label, payload length, next header, hop limit, source address, and destination address, supporting end-to-end and hop-by-hop processing by routers such as those produced by Nokia, Huawei Technologies, Ericsson, and Arista Networks. The document references cryptographic and integrity primitives used in adjacent work by bodies like Internet Research Task Force, National Institute of Standards and Technology, RSA Laboratories, and standards such as IPsec protocols defined in contemporaneous RFCs. Packet processing implications touch on performance considerations in architectures from ARM Holdings, x86-64, and POWER ISA implementations in server farms operated by Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and telecommunications carriers like Verizon Communications, AT&T, and NTT Communications.

Addressing and Header Format

RFC 2460 specifies 128-bit addresses and recommends representation and allocation practices that interface with global numbering authorities including IANA, ARIN, RIPE NCC, and APNIC. Addressing models relate to routing systems operated by Cisco Systems', Juniper Networks', and network operators such as Level 3 Communications, CenturyLink, Cogent Communications and content networks like Akamai Technologies and Cloudflare. Header fields such as the flow label and traffic class align with QoS frameworks used in DiffServ deployments and traffic engineering by organizations like Google Fiber, Comcast, and Deutsche Telekom AG. The format also affects tunneling and transition mechanisms employed by projects at Microsoft Research, University of California, Berkeley, MIT, and Stanford University.

Extension Headers and Options

The specification centralizes optional information into extension headers rather than variable-length options within the base header, enabling extensibility for capabilities defined later by groups including the IETF Security Area, IETF Routing Area, and research labs at Bell Labs. Extension headers such as Hop-by-Hop Options, Routing, Fragment, Authentication, and Destination Options inform implementations in operating systems like Linux, Solaris, NetBSD, and applications from Oracle Corporation and VMware. The design allows new headers to be introduced through standards development involving contributors from Huawei, Nokia, Intel Corporation, and academic centers such as Carnegie Mellon University and ETH Zurich.

Security and ICMPv6 Considerations

RFC 2460 delegates many security mechanisms to complementary specifications, notably the IPsec family and ICMPv6 error and informational messages standardized by the IETF working groups. Security considerations intersect with guidance and work from NIST, CERT Coordination Center, OWASP, and cryptographic research originating at Stanford University, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Cryptography Research Inc.. ICMPv6 messages and neighbor discovery protocols interact with deployments and mitigations implemented by vendors such as Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Palo Alto Networks, and cloud providers like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform.

Implementation and Deployment

Implementations of RFC 2460 appear across commercial routers and switches from Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Arista Networks, and Huawei, as well as in operating systems from Microsoft, Apple Inc., Red Hat, Canonical (company), FreeBSD and virtualization stacks by VMware and KVM. Carrier-grade deployments involve operators such as Verizon Communications, AT&T, China Mobile, NTT Communications, Deutsche Telekom AG, and content delivery networks including Akamai Technologies and Cloudflare. Transition technologies, testing, and pilots have been conducted by research and standards bodies including IETF, RIPE NCC, APNIC, ARIN, and academic consortia led by University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, and Tsinghua University.

History and Standardization Context

RFC 2460 emerged from decades of protocol evolution following foundational work like ARPANET packet switching experiments and the IPv4 specification; it was developed within the IETF with authorship by engineers linked to Cisco Systems and Nokia. The document is contemporaneous with other influential standards and efforts including RFC 791's lineage, the growth of the World Wide Web and organizations such as W3C, and commercialization trends led by IBM, Microsoft, and Intel Corporation. Standardization progressed through IETF working groups, reviews by the Internet Architecture Board, and coordination with regional registries (ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC), shaping global deployment and subsequent updates by successor RFCs and extensions in the IETF standards track.

Category:Internet protocols