TCP/IP Illustrated Episode 11

IPv4 Multicast Addresses

For IPv4, the class D space (224.0.0.0–239.255.255.255) has been reserved for supporting multicast. With 28 bits free, this provides for the possibility of $2^{28}$ = 268,435,456 host groups (each host group is an IP address). This address space is divided into major sections based on the way they are allocated and handled with respect to routing [IP4MA].

IPv6 Multicast Addresses

For IPv6, which is considerably more aggressive in its use of multicast, the prefix
ff00::/8 has been reserved for multicast addresses, and 112 bits are available for
holding the group number, providing for the possibility of

$2^{1}12$=5,192,296,858,534,827,628,530,496,329,220,096

groups.

Anycast Addresses

An anycast address is a unicast IPv4 or IPv6 address that identifies a different host depending on where in the network it is used. This is accomplished by configuring Internet routers to advertise the same unicast routes from multiple locations in the Internet. Thus, an anycast address refers not to a single host in the Internet, but to the “most appropriate” or “closest” single host that is responding to the anycast address. Anycast addressing is used most frequently for finding a computer that provides a common service [RFC4786]. For example, a datagram sent to an anycast address could be used to find a DNS server (see Chapter 11), a 6to4 gateway that encapsulates IPv6 traffic in IPv4 tunnels [RFC3068], or RPs for multicast routing [RFC4610].

Allocation

IP address space is allocated, usually in large chunks, by a collection of hierarchically organized authorities. The authorities are generally organizations that allocate address space to various owners—usually ISPs or other smaller authorities. Authorities are most often involved in allocating portions of the global unicast address space, but other types of addresses (multicast and special-use) are also sometimes allocated. The authorities can make allocations to users for an undetermined amount of time, or for a limited time (e.g., for running experiments). The top of the hierarchy is the IANA [IANA], which has wide-ranging responsibility for allocating IP addresses and other types of numbers used in the Internet protocols.

Unicast

For unicast IPv4 and IPv6 address space, the IANA delegates much of its allocation authority to a few regional Internet registries (RIRs). The RIRs coordinate with each other through an organization formed in 2003 called the Number Resource Organization (NRO) [NRO]. At the time of writing (mid-2011), the set of RIRs includes those shown in Table 2-14, all of which participate in the NRO. Note in addition that, as of early 2011, all the remaining unicast IPv4 address space held by IANA for allocation had been handed over to these RIRs.

Multicast

In IPv4 and IPv6, multicast addresses (i.e., group addresses) can be described based on their scope, the way they are determined (statically, dynamically by agreement, or algorithmically), and whether they are used for ASM or SSM. Guidelines have been constructed for allocation of these groups ([RFC5771] for IPv4; [RFC3307] for IPv6) and the overall architecture is detailed in [RFC6308]. The groups that are not of global scope (e.g., administratively scoped addresses and IPv6 link-scoped multicast addresses) can be reused in various parts of the Internet and are either configured by a network administrator out of an administratively scoped address block or selected automatically by end hosts. Globally scoped addresses that are statically allocated are generally fixed and may be hard-coded into applications. This type of address space is limited, especially in IPv4, so such addresses are really intended for uses applicable to any Internet site. Algorithmically determined globally scoped addresses can be created based on AS numbers, as in GLOP, or an associated unicast prefix allocation. Note that SSM can use globally scoped addresses (i.e., from the SSM block), administratively scoped addresses, or unicast-prefix-based IPv6 addresses where the prefix is effectively zero.

Unicast Address Assignment

Once a site has been allocated a range of unicast IP addresses, typically from its ISP, the site or network administrator must determine how to assign addresses in the address range to each network interface and how to set up the subnet structure. If the site has only a single physical network segment (e.g., most private homes), this process is relatively straightforward. For larger enterprises, especially those receiving service from multiple ISPs and that use multiple physical network segments distributed over a large geographical area, this process can be complicated. We shall begin to see how this works by looking at the case where a home user uses a private address range and a single IPv4 address provided by an ISP. This is a common scenario today. We then move on to provide some introductory guidance for more complicated situations.