Configuring IP Router Parameters
30 7705 SAR OS Router Configuration Guide
Neighbor Discovery
IPv6 provides autoconfiguration of addresses, where equipment connecting to an IPv6 
network can autoconfigure a usable address. There are two types of address 
autoconfiguration: stateless and stateful. Stateless autoconfiguration requires no manual 
configuration of hosts, minimal configuration of routers, and no servers. The host generates 
its own addresses using locally available information and information advertised by routers, 
such as the 7705 SAR. Stateless autoconfiguration is a feature of the neighbor discovery 
protocol. 
Stateful autoconfiguration involves hosts obtaining interface addresses and/or configuration 
information from a server. For more information on stateful configuration, see DHCP Relay 
and DHCPv6 Relay.
Stateless autoconfiguration uses two neighbor discovery messages: router solicitation and 
router advertisement. The host sends router solicitation messages to find routers, and the 
routers send router advertisement messages to indicate their presence. The host sends the 
router solicitation message to all routers, requesting the IPv6 prefix as well as the IPv6 
address of the routers. Each router responds with a router advertisement message indicating 
their IPv6 prefix and IPv6 address.
Next Header 8-bit selector that identifies the type of header 
immediately following the IPv6 header. The Next 
Header uses the same values as the IPv4 protocol 
field for some protocols; for example, the values 
for TCP and UDP are the same for both IPv4 and 
IPv6. 
The Next Header values differ from IPv4 when 
IPv6 extension headers are identified or when IPv6 
unique protocols, such as ICMPv6, are identified.
Hop Limit 8-bit unsigned integer that is decremented by 1 by 
each node that forwards the packet. If the hop limit 
is decremented to 0, the packet is discarded and the 
node sends the ICMPv6 message “Hop Limit 
Exceeded in transit” back to the sender.
Source Address 128-bit address of the originator of the packet
Destination Address 128-bit address of the intended recipient of the 
packet
Table 2: IPv6 Header Field Descriptions (Continued)
Field Description