Neighbour Discovery
What is IPv6 Neighbour Discovery?
IPv6 Neighbour Discovery (ND or NDP) is a protocol that replaces ARP in IPv4. It is used for discovering other devices on the link, determining their link-layer addresses, finding routers, and maintaining reachability information.
Why is IPv6 Neighbour Discovery useful?
It improves network efficiency and security by combining multiple functions like router discovery, prefix discovery, and address resolution into a single, robust protocol.
How does IPv6 Neighbour Discovery work?
NDP operates using ICMPv6 messages (such as Router Solicitation, Router Advertisement, Neighbor Solicitation, and Neighbor Advertisement). Devices use these to discover and communicate with neighbors and routers on the local link.
Where is IPv6 Neighbour Discovery used?
It is used in all IPv6-enabled networks for local communication, auto-configuration, and route discovery — including enterprise LANs, ISPs, and home networks.
Which OSI layer does IPv6 Neighbour Discovery belong to?
Neighbour Discovery operates at the Network Layer (Layer 3) and interacts closely with Layer 2 (Data Link Layer) for address resolution.
Is IPv6 Neighbour Discovery Windows specific?
No, it is implemented across all major operating systems including Windows as part of standard IPv6 support.
Is IPv6 Neighbour Discovery Linux specific?
No, Linux fully supports Neighbour Discovery as part of its IPv6 stack, with tools like ip -6 neigh and kernel-level support.
Which Transport Protocol is used by IPv6 Neighbour Discovery?
Neighbour Discovery uses ICMPv6, not a transport protocol like TCP or UDP, but a control protocol for network layer messaging.
Is IPv6 Neighbour Discovery using client-server model?
No, it uses a peer-to-peer model where nodes communicate directly on the local link to discover neighbors and routers.
In this section, you are going to learn
Terminology
Version Info
setup
Reference links