IPv6

Are you creating documentation or examples that use IPv6? Or are you, like me, writing blog posts or other online content related to IPv6?

If so, are you wondering what addresses to use so that you don’t conflict with real IPv6 addresses? Or, if you are using your own addresses, so that you don’t expose your network to attackers?

The answer lies in RFC 3849 where it clearly defines a range for documentation:

The prefix allocated for documentation purposes is 2001:DB8::/32

The result is that any IPv6 address beginning with “2001:db8” will be non-routable on the IPv6 Internet. So you can feel free to use addresses beginning with that in any documentation, examples… or any other content.

Examples could include addresses like:

2001:db8:0:1234:0:5678:9:12
2001:db8:aaaa:bbbb:cccc:dddd:eeee:ffff
2001:db8:42:1af::1
2001:db8:fe58:3efa:deca:212:dd67:c0a9
2001:db8::2

Or any other combination you can come up with. Just remember the “2001:db8” and you’ll be all set. (And upper- or lowercase doesn’t matter.)

Have fun documenting your IPv6 examples!

P.S. There are actually similar ranges set aside in IPv4… know what they are? (Hint: RFC 5737)

Originally from Voxeo Blogs