RFC 3587 (rfc3587) - Page 1 of 5


IPv6 Global Unicast Address Format



Alternative Format: Original Text Document



Network Working Group                                          R. Hinden
Request for Comments: 3587                                         Nokia
Obsoletes: 2374                                               S. Deering
Category: Informational                                            Cisco
                                                             E. Nordmark
                                                                     Sun
                                                             August 2003


                   IPv6 Global Unicast Address Format

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003).  All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This document obsoletes RFC 2374, "An IPv6 Aggregatable Global
   Unicast Address Format".  It defined an IPv6 address allocation
   structure that includes Top Level Aggregator (TLA) and Next Level
   Aggregator (NLA).  This document makes RFC 2374 and the TLA/NLA
   structure historic.

1.  Introduction

   RFC 2374, "An IPv6 Aggregatable Global Unicast Address Format",
   defined an IPv6 address allocation structure that includes TLA and
   NLA.  This document replaces RFC 2374, and makes RFC 2374 and the
   TLA/NLA structure historic.

2.  TLA/NLA Made Historic

   The TLA/NLA scheme has been replaced by a coordinated allocation
   policy defined by the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) [IPV6RIR].

   Part of the motivation for obsoleting the TLA/NLA structure is
   technical; for instance, there is concern that TLA/NLA is not the
   technically best approach at this stage of the deployment of IPv6.
   Moreover, the allocation of IPv6 addresses is related to policy and
   to the stewardship of the IP address space and routing table size,
   which the RIRs have been managing for IPv4.  It is likely that the
   RIRs' policy will evolve as IPv6 deployment proceeds.



Hinden, et al.               Informational