1-5 
Address  Application 
FF05::2  Site-local scope all-routers multicast address
 
 
Besides, there is another type of multicast address: solicited-node address. The solicited-node 
multicast address is used to acquire the link-layer addresses of neighbor nodes on the same link and is 
also used for duplicate address detection. Each IPv6 unicast or anycast address has one 
corresponding solicited-node address. The format of a solicited-node multicast address is as follows: 
FF02:0:0:0:0:1:FFXX:XXXX 
Where, FF02:0:0:0:0:1:FF is permanent and consists of 104 bits, and XX:XXXX is the last 24 bits of an 
IPv6 address. 
Interface identifier in IEEE EUI-64 format 
Interface identifiers in IPv6 unicast addresses are used to identify interfaces on a link and they are 
required to be unique on that link. Interface identifiers in IPv6 unicast addresses are currently required 
to be 64 bits long. An interface identifier is derived from the link-layer address of that interface. Interface 
identifiers in IPv6 addresses are 64 bits long, while MAC addresses are 48 bits long. Therefore, the 
hexadecimal number FFFE needs to be inserted in the middle of MAC addresses (behind the 24 
high-order bits).To ensure the interface identifier obtained from a MAC address is unique, it is 
necessary to set the universal/local (U/L) bit (the seventh high-order bit) to “1”. Thus, an interface 
identifier in EUI-64 format is obtained. 
Figure 1-2 Convert a MAC address into an EUI-64 address 
 
 
Introduction to IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol 
The IPv6 neighbor discovery protocol (NDP) uses five types of ICMPv6 messages to implement the 
following functions: 
z  Address resolution 
z  Neighbor unreachability detection 
z  Duplicate address detection 
z  Router/prefix discovery 
z  Address autoconfiguration 
z  Redirection 
Table 1-3 lists the types and functions of ICMPv6 messages used by the NDP.