Next Header (8 bits)
The Next Header field identifies the next header’s type. If an Extension header is used, this field contains
the type of Extension header (as shown in the following table). If the next header is a transmission control
protocol (TCP) or user datagram protocol (UDP) header, the value in this field is the same as for IPv4. The
Extension header is located between the IP header and the TCP or UDP header.
The following lists the Next Header field values.
Value Description
0 Hop-by-Hop option header
4 IPv4
6 TCP
8 Exterior Gateway Protocol (EGP)
41 IPv6
43 Routing header
44 Fragmentation header
50 Encrypted Security
51 Authentication header
59 No Next Header
60 Destinations option header
NOTE: This table is not a comprehensive list of Next Header field values. For a complete and current
listing, refer to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) web page at .
Hop Limit (8 bits)
The Hop Limit field shows the number of hops remaining for packet processing. In IPv4, this is known as
the Time to Live (TTL) field and uses seconds rather than hops.
Each time the packet moves through a forwarding router, this field decrements by 1. If a router receives a
packet with a Hop Limit of 1, it decrements it to 0 (zero). The router discards the packet and sends an
ICMPv6 message back to the sending router indicating that the Hop Limit was exceeded in transit.
Source Address (128 bits)
The Source Address field contains the IPv6 address for the packet originator.
502
IPv6 Routing
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