RFC 2732 (rfc2732) - Page 2 of 5
Format for Literal IPv6 Addresses in URL's
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
RFC 2732 IPv6 Literal Addresses in URL's December 1999
The format defined in this document has been implemented in the IPv6
versions of several widely deployed browsers including Microsoft
Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Lynx. It is also intended to be used
in the IPv6 version of the service location protocol.
1.1 Requirements
The keywords MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD,
SHOULD NOT, RECOMMENDED, MAY, and OPTIONAL, if and where they appear
in this document, are to be interpreted as described in [KEYWORDS].
World Wide Web browsers SHOULD implement the format of IPv6 literals
in URL's defined in this document. Other types of applications and
protocols that use URL's MAY use this format.
2. Literal IPv6 Address Format in URL's Syntax
To use a literal IPv6 address in a URL, the literal address should be
enclosed in "[" and "]" characters. For example the following
literal IPv6 addresses:
FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210
1080:0:0:0:8:800:200C:4171
3ffe:2a00:100:7031::1
1080::8:800:200C:417A
::192.9.5.5
::FFFF:129.144.52.38
2010:836B:4179::836B:4179
would be represented as in the following example URLs:
http://[FEDC:BA98:7654:3210:FEDC:BA98:7654:3210]:80/index.html
http://[1080:0:0:0:8:800:200C:417A]/index.html
http://[3ffe:2a00:100:7031::1]
http://[1080::8:800:200C:417A]/foo
http://[::192.9.5.5]/ipng
http://[::FFFF:129.144.52.38]:80/index.html
http://[2010:836B:4179::836B:4179]
3. Changes to RFC 2396
This document updates the generic syntax for Uniform Resource
Identifiers defined in RFC 2396 [URL]. It defines a syntax for IPv6
addresses and allows the use of "[" and "]" within a URI explicitly
for this reserved purpose.
Hinden, et al. Standards Track