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Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  TCP/IP Lower-Layer (Interface, Internet and Transport) Protocols (OSI Layers 2, 3 and 4)
      9  TCP/IP Internet Layer (OSI Network Layer) Protocols
           9  TCP/IP IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol (ND)

Previous Topic/Section
IPv6 ND Functions Compared to Equivalent IPv4 Functions
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Pages in Current Topic/Section
12
3
Next Page
IPv6 ND Host-Host Communication Functions: Address Resolution, Next-Hop Determination, Neighbor Unreachability Detection and Duplicate Address Detection
Next Topic/Section

IPv6 ND Host-Router Discovery Functions: Router Discovery, Prefix Discovery, Parameter Discovery and Address Autoconfiguration
(Page 3 of 3)

Host-Router Discovery Functions Performed By Hosts

For their part, hosts are responsible for three main functions.

  • Advertisement Processing: Hosts listen for advertisements on their local network and process them. They then set appropriate parameters based on the information in these messages. This includes maintaining various data structures such as lists of prefixes and routers, which are updated regularly as new advertisement information comes in.

  • Solicitation Generation: Under certain conditions a host will generate a Router Solicitation and send it out on the local network. This very simple message just requests that any local routers that hear it immediately send a Router Advertisement message back to the device that made the request. This is most often done when a host is first turned on, so it doesn't have to sit “in limbo” waiting for the next routine advertisement.

  • Autoconfiguration: When required, and if the network supports the function, the host will use information from the local router to allow it to automatically configure itself with an IP address and other parameters.

Key Concept: One of the two main functional groups of the Neighbor Discovery protocol is the set of host-router discovery functions. They allow hosts on a local network to discover the identity of a local router and learn important parameters about how the network is to be used. Host-router discovery operations are performed using ICMPv6 Router Advertisement and Router Solicitation messages.


Note: Both Router Advertisement and Router Solicitation messages may include an optional layer two address of the device sending the message. This is used to update address resolution caches to save time when address resolution is needed later on.



Previous Topic/Section
IPv6 ND Functions Compared to Equivalent IPv4 Functions
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
12
3
Next Page
IPv6 ND Host-Host Communication Functions: Address Resolution, Next-Hop Determination, Neighbor Unreachability Detection and Duplicate Address Detection
Next Topic/Section

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Version 3.0 - Version Date: September 20, 2005

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