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EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Silvia Hagen

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QUESTION POSED ON: 21 August 2003
My question concerns neighbor discovery.
If the link layer address is embedded in the IPv6 address why is a neighbor solicitation multicast message required to discover the link layer address of a neighbor?

EXPERT RESPONSE
Hi Gary,
Thank you for your question. This is a good thought. The problem with this is that the MAC address CAN be embedded in the IPv6 address, but doesn't have to. For instance one can choose to use DHCPv6 and use its own numbering system for IPv6 addresses. Others may use the privacy extensions defined in RFC 3041 or you may have some load balancing protocol for instance a router advertising one IP address to the link but having multiple interfaces serving that address.
Regards, Silvia

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