IPv6 neighbor discovery uses ICMP messages and solicited multicast addresses to find the link layer address of a neighbor on the same local network, verify the neighbor‘s reachability and track neighboring devices.
Upon receiving a neighbor solicitation message, the destination replies with neighbor advertisement (NA). The source address in the NA is the IPv6 address of the device sending the NA message. The destination address in the neighbor advertisement message is the IPv6 address of the device sending the neighbor solicitation. The data portion of the NA includes the link layer address of the node sending the neighbor advertisement.
Neighbor solicitation messages also verify the availability of a neighbor once its the link layer address is identified. When a node wants to verify the reachability of a neighbor, the destination address in a neighbor solicitation message is the unicast address of the neighbor.
A neighbor is interpreted as reachable when an acknowledgment is returned indicating packets have been received and processed. If packets are reaching the device, they‘re also reaching the next hop neighbor, providing a confirmation the next hop is reachable.
To set an IPv6 neighbor discovery configuration:
The Device Configuration screen displays. This screen lists wireless controllers, service platforms and access points within the managed network.
The selected device's configuration screen displays.
| IPv6 Address | Provide a static IPv6 IP address for neighbor discovery. IPv6 hosts can configure themselves automatically when connected to an IPv6 network using the Neighbor Discovery Protocol via Internet Control Message Protocol version 6 (ICMPv6) router discovery messages. When first connected to a network, a host sends a link-local router solicitation multicast request for its configuration parameters; routers respond to such a request with a router advertisement packet that contains Internet Layer configuration parameters. IPv6 addresses are composed of eight groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons. |
| MAC Address | Enter the hardware encoded MAC addresses of up to 256 IPv6 neighbor devices. A neighbor is interpreted as reachable when an acknowledgment is returned indicating packets have been received and processed. If packets are reaching the device, they‘re also reaching the next hop neighbor, providing a confirmation the next hop is reachable. |
| Switch VLAN Interface | Use the spinner control to set the virtual interface (from 1 - 4094) used for neighbor advertisements and solicitation messages. |
| Device Type | Specify the device type for this neighbor solicitation is for. Options include Host, Router and DHCP Server. The default setting is Host. |
Note
A maximum of 256 neighbor entries can be defined.