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Cisco CCNA 1.9 Cisco CCST Networking 2.3 CompTIA Network+ 3.4 Cisco CCNA 1.8
InteractiveNetworkFree

IPv6 Address Range Sorter

Sort IPv6 addresses into global unicast, unique local, link-local, multicast, or loopback, unspecified and default route.

⚑ Complete this interactive to capture a CTF flag worth 5 points.

About this interactive

In IPv6 the first bits of an address say what kind of address it is, so you can read the type straight off the first hextet. Global unicast addresses, the ones routed on the public internet, are in 2000::/3: a first hextet from 2000 to 3fff, such as 2a03. Unique local addresses, for use inside one organisation like IPv4 private addresses, are in fc00::/7, and in practice start with fd, such as fd77. Link-local addresses start with fe80; every IPv6 interface makes one for itself, and it never leaves the link. Multicast addresses start with ff. A few single values stand apart: ::1 is the loopback address, :: the unspecified address, and ::/0 the default route. Two things trip people up. The type comes from the first hextet only, so fe80 or ff later in an address means nothing; and shorthand hides zeros, so a card written in full, or with :: at the front, has to be read for what its first hextet really is. There is no broadcast bin, because IPv6 has no broadcast address (multicast to all nodes does that job), and no anycast bin, because an anycast address is taken from unicast space and looks exactly like any other unicast address. Ten of the twenty-seven cards are drawn each run. After you check, every card says which range it is in and why.

What you'll learn

Aligned to

Cisco CCNA
1.9 Describe IPv6 address types
1.8 Configure and verify IPv6 addressing and prefix
Cisco CCST Networking
2.3 Identify IPv6 addresses and prefix formats
CompTIA Network+
3.4 Given a scenario, implement IPv4 and IPv6 network services

Key terms

Global Unicast Address
GUA
A publicly routable IPv6 unicast address beginning with the prefix 2000::/3, equivalent in role to a public IPv4 address, used to identify a device uniquely across the internet. GUAs are assigned by ISPs and regional internet registries and are the addresses used for internet-facing communication in IPv6.
Unique Local Address
An IPv6 address in the FC00::/7 range (most commonly FD00::/8) used for private internal network communication, analogous to IPv4 private address ranges like 192.168.0.0/16. Unique local addresses are not routable on the public internet but can be routed within an organization's own network.
Link-Local Address
An IPv6 address in the FE80::/10 range that is automatically assigned to every IPv6-enabled interface and used only for communication within a single network link. It cannot be routed beyond the local Layer 2 segment and is required for Neighbor Discovery and router communication.
IPv6 Multicast
An IPv6 address type where a single source sends traffic to multiple subscribed destination devices simultaneously.
Unspecified Address
The IPv6 address ::/128 (all zeros), used to indicate the absence of an address, typically before a device has been assigned one.

Topics

Ipv6 Address Types Global Unicast Unique Local Link Local Multicast Interactive Categorize

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