Network Layer:

Logical Addressing

Dr. Sachin Kumar Yadav

 ROUTER:
A router is a networking device that forwards data packets
between computer networks. Routers perform the traffic
directing functions between networks and on the global
Internet.

A network switch connects devices in a

network to each other, enabling them
to talk by exchanging data packets.

A switch connects multiple devices to create a network, a router

connects multiple switches, and their respective networks, to form
an even larger network.
 Router Switch

The main objective of router is to connect While the main objective of switch is to
various networks simultaneously. connect various devices simultaneously.

It works in network layer. While it works in data link layer.

Router is used by LAN as well as MAN. While switch is used by only LAN.

Through the router, data is sent in the While through switch data is sent in the
form of packets. form of frame.
There is less collision taking place in the While there is no collision taking place in
router. full duplex switch.

Router is a relatively much more Switch is an expensive device than hub.

expensive device than switch. but cheaper than router.

maximum speed for wireless is 1-10 Mbps

and maximum speed for wired Maximum speed is 10Mbps to 100Mbps.
connections is 100 Mbps.
NETWORK LAYER
In the seven-layer OSI model of computer networking, the network
layer is layer 3. The network layer is responsible for packet
forwarding including routing through intermediate routers.
 Functions Performed by the Network Layer
The network layer performs several functions to facilitate data transmission in a network. Some of
the functions performed are as follows:
Routing: It is the process to determine the most effective route for data transmission in
the network. When a data packet arrives at the router's input link, it determines the ideal
route for data transmission in the network. It determines the path that will be used to
transfer the packet further in the network.

Logical Addressing: There are two types of addressing performed in the network: logical
addressing and physical addressing.
The data link layer performs the physical addressing, while the network layer does the
logical addressing in the OSI model.
Logical addressing is also used to distinguish between the source and destination
system. The network layer adds a header to the packet, which includes the logical
addresses of both the sender and the receiver.

Internetworking: This is the most important function performed by the network layer of
the OSI model. It establishes the logical connection between nodes in the same or
different networks.

Fragmentation: It is the conversion of data packets into the smallest individual data
units capable of being transmitted in the network.
Network Layer Services:

1. Guaranteed delivery: This layer offers a service that ensures the

packet arrives at its destination.

2. Guaranteed delivery with bounded delay: This service assures that

the packet will arrive within the given host-to-host delay bound.

3. In-Order packets: This service assures that packets reach their

destination in the order they were delivered.

4. Security services: These are provided at the network layer through

the use of a session key between the source and destination hosts. The
payloads of datagrams transmitted to the destination host are encrypted
by the network layer of the source host. The payload would subsequently
be decrypted by the network layer at the target host.
Logical Addressing
Logical address also referred to as IP (Internet Protocol) address is an
universal addressing system. It is used in the Network layer. This address
facilitates universal communication that are not dependent on the underlying
physical networks.
There are two types of IP addresses: IPv4 and IPv6.
What is logical addressing in network?
An IP address is also known as a logical address and it can change over time as well
as from one network to another. The Internet Service Provider will be in charge of
assigning it. When a device connects to a different network, it receives a different IP
address as a result of a change in Internet Service Provider.
IPv4 ADDRESSES
An IPv4 address is a 32-bit address that uniquely and universally
defines the connection of a device (for example, a computer or a
router) to the Internet.

The address space of

IPv4 is 232 or
4,294,967,296 (Four billion, two
The IPv4 addresses are hundred ninety-four million, nine
hundred sixty-seven thousand, two
unique and universal. hundred ninety-six)
Figure 1 Dotted-decimal notation and binary notation for an IPv4 address
 Example 1
Change the following IPv4 addresses from binary
notation to dotted-decimal notation.

Solution
We replace each group of 8 bits with its equivalent
decimal number (see Appendix B) and add dots for
separation.

19.11
Example 2
Change the following IPv4 addresses from dotted-decimal
notation to binary notation.

Solution
We replace each decimal number with its binary
equivalent (see Appendix B).
Example 3
Find the error, if any, in the following IPv4 addresses.

Solution
a. There must be no leading zero (045).
b. There can be no more than four numbers.
c. Each number needs to be less than or equal to 255.
d. A mixture of binary notation and dotted-decimal
notation is not allowed.
IP address classes
Based on the following rules, IP addresses are categorized into five
classes; A, B, C, D, and E.
•In class A, the first bit of the first byte always remains OFF (0).
•In class B, the first bit of the first byte always remains ON and the
second bit of the first byte always remains OFF.
•In class C, the first two bits of the first byte always remain ON and the
third bit of the first byte always remains OFF.
•In class D, the first three bits of the first byte always remain ON and
the fourth bit of the first byte always remains OFF.
•In class E, the first four bits of the first byte always remain ON.
Network and host addressing
In the second level of the hierarchical addressing scheme, each address is further
divided into two addresses: the network address and host address.
Network addresses are used to combine multiple IP addresses in a group while host
addresses are used to provide a unique identity to each IP address in the group. A
network address is the group address. All group members use the same network
address. A host address is a unique address in the group.
In classful addressing, the address space is divided into
five classes: A, B, C, D, and E.
Finding the classes in binary and dotted-decimal notation
 1. Class A:
An IP address is allocated to networks with a high number of hosts in Class A. The
network ID has an 8-bit length. The host ID has a length of 24 bits. The first bit in the
higher order bits of the first octet is always set to 0 in Class A, while the following 7 bits
define the network ID.

7
There are 2 - 2 = 126 networks in the Class A network
24
Total number of Host IDs in Class A = 2 - 2 [1, 67, 77, 214]
31
Total number of connections in Class A = 2 (2, 14, 74, 83, 648)
Organizations needing very large networks, like Indian Railways,
employ class A.

An example of a Class address is 102.168.212.226. Here, “102” helps

you identify the network and 168.212.226 identify the host.
 127.0.0.1 IP Address 0.0.0.0 IP Address

It is a loopback address(localhost
It is a non-routable address.
address).

This address is used to connect to the

It indicates an invalid, unknown, or
same machine or computer the end-user
inapplicable end-user address
is using.

127.x.y.z also is another address of the

computer. 127.0.0.0 is a loopback subnet
0.0.0.0 is not the address of anything.
and 127.255.255.255 is a broadcast
address for the loopback subnet.

127.0.0.1 signals the TCP/IP of your computer that it don not want to connect to the
Internet. It states a connection to a server hosted on the same computer. As such,
you'll typically enter it when telling the software to connect to a server via a web
browser or a game.
0.0.0.0, on the other hand, is more of a wildcard than a specific location. When you
use 0.0.0.0, you tell the software to allow connections from every local IP address
possible instead of just 127.0.0.1.
 2. Class B:
An IP address is issued to Class B networks, which range in size from modest to big. The
Network ID is made up of 16 bits. The Host ID has a length of 16 bits.

1 1 0

The higher order bits of the first octet are always 10 in Class B, while the
remaining 14 bits define the network ID. The last 16 bits define the Host ID.
•Total number of connections in the class B network is 230 = 1, 07, 37, 41, 824
•Total number of networks available in class B is 214 = 16, 384
•Total number of hosts that can be configured in Class B = 216 - 2 = 165, 534
•Organizations needing medium-sized networks typically utilize class B.
An example of Class B IP address is 168.212.226.204, where *168
212* identifies the network and *226.204* helps you identify the Hut
network host.
3. Class C:
Only small-sized networks are allocated an IP address in Class C. The Network ID
has a length of 24 bits. The host ID has an 8-bit length.

29
Total number of connections in Class C = 2 = 53, 68, 70, 912.
24
1
Total number of networks available in Class C = 2 = 20, 97, 152.

Total number of hosts that can be configured in every network in Class

8
C = 2 - 2 = 254.

Organizations needing small to medium-sized networks typically choose class C.

 4. Class D:
An IP address in Class D is designated for multicast addresses. It doesn’t have
subnetting. The first octet’s higher order bits are always 1110, while the remaining bits
decide the host ID in any network. Class D addresses are 32-bit network addresses.
All the values within the range are used to identify multicast groups uniquely.

Therefore, there is no requirement to extract the host address from the IP address, so
Class D does not have any subnet mask.
Example for a Class D IP address: 227.21.6.173

5. Class E:
An IP address is utilised in Class E for future usage or for research and development. It
doesn’t have any subnetting. The first octet’s higher order bits are always 1111, while the
remaining bits decide the host ID in any network.

However, E class is reserved, and its usage is

never defined. Therefore, many network Example for a Class E IP address:
implementations discard these addresses as 243.164.89.28
undefined or illegal.
 Summary

•An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a numerical label assigned to the devices

connected to a computer network that uses the IP for communication.
•IP Address is divided into two parts: 1) Prefix 2)Suffix
•IP address works in a network like a postal address. For example, a postal address
combines two addresses, address, or your area your house address.
•In a class A type of network, the first 8 bits (also called the first octet) identify the
network, and the remaining have 24 bits for the host into that network.
•In class B type of network, the first 16 bits (known as two octets) help you identify the
network. The other remaining 16 bits indicate the host within the network.
•In class C, three octets are used to indent the network. This IP ranges between 192 to
223.
•Class D addresses are 32-bit network addresses. All the values within the range are
used to identify multicast groups uniquely.
•Class E IP address is defined by including the starting four network address bits as 1.
•Important rule for assigning network id is that the network ID cannot start with 127 as
this number belongs to class A address and reserved for internal loopback functions.
Unicast:
This type of information transfer is useful when there is a participation of a single sender and a single
recipient. So, in short, you can term it a one-to-one transmission.
For example, if a device having IP address 10.1.2.0 in a network wants to send the traffic stream(data
packets) to the device with IP address 20.12.4.2 in the other network, then unicast comes into the
picture. This is the most common form of data transfer over networks.

Multicast:
In multicasting, one/more senders and one/more recipients participate in data transfer traffic. In this method traffic
recline between the boundaries of unicast (one-to-one) and broadcast (one-to-all). Multicast lets servers direct single
copies of data streams that are then simulated and routed to hosts that request it. IP multicast requires the support of
some other protocols like IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol), Multicast routing for its work. Also in
Classful IP addressing Class D is reserved for multicast groups.
Broadcast:
Broadcasting transfer (one-to-all) techniques can be classified into two types:
Limited Broadcasting: Suppose you have to send a stream of packets to all the devices over the network that your
reside, this broadcasting comes in handy. For this to achieve, it will append 255.255.255.255 (all the 32 bits of IP
address set to 1) called Limited Broadcast Address in the destination address of the datagram (packet) header which
is reserved for information transfer to all the recipients from a single client (sender) over the network.

Direct Broadcasting: This is useful when a device in one network wants to transfer packet stream to all the devices
over the other network. This is achieved by translating all the Host ID part bits of the destination address to 1,
referred to as Direct Broadcast Address in the datagram header for information transfer.
Subnet Mask
A subnet mask is used in a process known as subnetting, in
which a large network is divided into smaller networks.
A subnet mask is used to determine the network address and
host address:

In simple words, the subnet mask tells, how many bits in the IP address are
used as the network address and how many bits are left for the host address.
IP addresses are always written with the subnet mask.
Examples of IP addresses
Uses of Subnetting
1. Subnetting helps in organizing the network in an efficient way which
helps in expanding the technology for large firms and companies.
2. Subnetting is used for specific staffing structures to reduce traffic
and maintain order and efficiency.
3. Subnetting divides domains of the broadcast so that traffic is routed
efficiently, which helps in improving network performance.
4. Subnetting is used in increasing network security.

The reasons to use subnetting are:

• Conservation of IP addresses
• Reduced network traffic
• Simplified troubleshooting
How Does Subnetting Work?
The working of subnets starts in such a way that firstly it divides the
subnets into smaller subnets. For communicating between subnets,
routers are used. Each subnet allows its linked devices to
communicate with each other. Subnetting for a network should be
done in such a way that it does not affect the network bits.
 Thus, the range of subnet-2
is: 193.1.2.128 to 193.1.2.255
Thus, the range of subnet 1
Subnet id of Subnet-2 is : 193.1.2.128
is: 193.1.2.0 to 193.1.2.127 The direct Broadcast id of Subnet-2 is: 193.1.2.255
Subnet id of Subnet-1 is : 193.1.2.0 The total number of hosts possible is: 126 (Out of
The direct Broadcast id of Subnet-1 is: 193.1.2.127 128,
The total number of hosts possible is: 126 (Out of 2 id's are used for Subnet id & Direct Broadcast id)
128, The subnet mask of Subnet- 2 is: 255.255.255.128
2 id's are used for Subnet id & Direct Broadcast id) The best way to find out the subnet mask of a subnet
The subnet mask of Subnet- 1 is: 255.255.255.128 is to set the fixed bit of host-id to 1 and the rest to 0.
FLSM vs VLSM:
FLSM stands for Full Length Subnet Mask. It means all the subnets are of the
same size. In FLSM, the subnet mask remains the same for all the subnets.
FLSM creates subnets of the same size and an equal number of host
identifiers

VLSM stands for Variable Length Subnet Mask. It means the size of the subnet
varies according to the needs. In VLSM, the subnet mask is different normally
but it can be same for any two or more subnets depending upon the situation.
FLSM:
Q. Suppose you are network administrator with provided
network 172.16.0.0/24. You need to manage the entire n/w
by dividing into subnetworks so that each of the
Development, Sales, Reception, HR and Production. How
would you do so?
VLSM: Example. An administrator has 192.168.1.0/24 network. The
administrator has three different departments with different number of
hosts. Sales department has 100 computers, Purchase department has 50
computers, Accounts has 25 computers and Management has 5 computers;
the subnets are of fixed size. Calculate the network id, subnet mask, No. of
usable host, host range, broadcast address.

Solution:
1. Allocate the highest range of IPs to the highest requirement, so let's assign
192.168.1.0 /25 (255.255.255.128) to the Sales department. This IP subnet with
Network number 192.168.1.0 has 126 valid Host IP addresses which satisfy the
requirement of the Sales department. The subnet mask used for this subnet has
10000000 as the last octet.
2. Allocate the next highest range, so let's assign 192.168.1.128 /26
(255.255.255.192) to the Purchase department. This IP subnet with Network
number 192.168.1.128 has 62 valid Host IP Addresses which can be easily assigned
to all the PCs of the Purchase department. The subnet mask used has 11000000 in
the last octet.
3. Allocate the next highest range, i.e. Accounts. The requirement of 25 IPs can be
fulfilled with 192.168.1.192 /27 (255.255.255.224) IP subnet, which contains 30
valid host IPs. The network number of Accounts department will be 192.168.1.192.
The last octet of subnet mask is 11100000.
4. Allocate the next highest range to Management. The Management department
contains only 5 computers. The subnet 192.168.1.224 /29 with the Mask
255.255.255.248 has exactly 6 valid host IP addresses. So, this can be assigned
to Management. The last octet of the subnet mask will contain 11111000.

VLSM subnetting:
The given network address is: 192.168.1.0/24
Given requirement in descending order is:
Sales 100
Purchase 50
Accounts 25
Management 5
The complete range of the address in the above provided network is:
192.168.1.0 to 192.168.1.255
Divide the given network consisting 256 hosts into 2 networks with 128 hosts
each:
192.168.1.0-192.168.1.127 (192.168.1.0/25)
192.168.1.128-192.168.1.255 (192.168.1.128/25)
The largest network requirement is of 100 hosts for Sales department. For this, we
need to assign subnetwork with 128 hosts.
Let us assign the first divided subnetwork 192.168.1.0/25 to Sales Department.
We now have remaining subnetwork 192.168.1.128/25.
Dividing this subnetwork, two subnetworks with 64 hosts each are formed.
192.168.1.128 to 192.168.1.191 (192.168.1.128/26)
192.168.1.192 to 192.168.1.255 (192.168.1.192/26)
Our second network requirement is of 50 hosts for Purchase department. We
need to assign subnetwork consisting of 64 hosts.

Assigning 192.168.1.128/26 to Purchase department.

The remaining subnetwork available is 192.168.192/26.
Dividing this subnetwork, two subnetworks with 32 hosts each are formed.
192.168.1.192 to 192.168.1.223 (192.168.1.192/27)
192.168.1.224 to 192.168.1.255 (192.168.1.224/27)
The third largest requirement is of 25 hosts for Account department.
Assigning 192.168.1.192/27 to Account Department.

Remaining subnetwork is 192.168.1.224/27

Dividing this subnetwork, two subnetworks with 16 hosts each are formed.
192.168.1.224 to 192.168.1.239 (192.168.1.224/28)
192.168.1.240 to 192.168.1.255 (192.168.1.240/28)
Our fourth network requirement is of 5 hosts for Management department. We
need to assign subnetwork consisting of 8 hosts, which is sufficient.
So, again dividing the subnetwork 192.168.1.240/28, two subnetworks with 8 hosts
each are formed.

192.168.1.240 to 192.168.1.247 (192.168.1.240/29)

192.168.1.248 to 192.168.1.255 (192.168.1.248/29)
Our fourth network requirement is of 5 hosts for Management department. We
need to assign subnetwork consisting of 8 hosts.
 Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR):
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) is an IP address
allocation method that improves data routing efficiency on the
internet. Every machine, server, and end-user device that
connects to the internet has a unique number, called an IP
address, associated with it.
It is an IP address assigning method that
improves the efficiency of address
distribution. It is also known as
supernetting that replaces the older system
based on classes A, B, and C networks.
By using a single CIDR IP address many
unique IP addresses can be designated.
CIDR IP address is the same as the
normal IP address except that it ends with
a slash followed by a number.
172.200.0.0/16 It is called IP network
prefix.
Supernetting is a technique for combining multiple smaller network
addresses into a single larger network address. Doing it allows
more efficient routing and reduces the size of the routing table.
Classless Addressing in IP Addressing
Classless addressing, also called Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR), is
an improved IP addressing system. It increases the effectiveness of IP address
allocation because of the absence of class distribution.

Structure
The CIDR block comprises two parts. These are as follows:

•Block id is used for the network identification, but the number of bits is not pre-defined as it is in the
classful IP addressing scheme.
•Host id is used to identify the host part of the network.

Notation
CIDR IP addresses as follows:
w.x.y.z/n
In the example above, w,x,y,z each defines an 8-
bit binary number, while n tells us about the
number of bits used to identify the network and
is called an IP network prefix or mask.
Block information
Given the following IP address, let's find the network and host bits.
200.56.23.41/28
The following illustration gives a clear understanding of the aforementioned IP
address scheme:
Benefits
Following are the benefits of classless IP addressing:
•Efficient IP address allocations. The Internet Assigned

•More balanced use of IP address ranges.

Numbers
Authority (IANA) is a
•More efficient routing. standards organization
that oversees global IP
address allocation, auto
Characteristics of CIDR nomous system number
It dynamically allocates the IP addresses by using CIDR allocation, root
zone management in
blocks on the requirement of the user based on certain rules. the Domain Name
System (DNS), media
types, and other Internet
The assignment of the CIDR block is handled by the Protocol–related
symbols and Internet
Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA). numbers.

CIDR block consists of IP addresses and it consists

of some rules:
1. All IP addresses which are allocated to host must be continuous.
2. The block size must be of power 2 and equal to the total number of IP addresses.
3. The size of the block must be divisible by the first IP address of the block.
5
Example: If the Block size is 2 then, Host Id will contain 5 bits and Network will contain 32 – 5 = 27 bits. First IP
address of the Block must be evenly divisible by the size of the block. in simple words, the least significant part
should always start with zeroes in Host Id.
Example: The IP address range is from 21.19.35.64 and 21.19.35.127.
Find the CIDR block?
The IP address ranges are from 21.19.35.64 and 21.19.35.127.
Before proceeding further, the CIDR block rules mentioned above should
be checked if they are satisfied; then, it is a CIDR block.
6.
So the size of the block is 2 (i.e., 127 – 64 + 1 = 64)
Number of bits = 32 – 6 = 26.
CIDR block is 21.19.35.64/26.

Example: The representation is 255.255.255.255/31. Find the IP addresses

of the CIDR block?
31 represents the number of bits used for the identification of the network.
The 1-bit is used for the identification of hosts.
The CIDR address is 255.255.255.255/31.
The first IP address is 255.255.255.254.
The last IP address is 255.255.255.255.
The total cost is 2.
Netmask is 255.255.255.254.
Q. If you are assigned an IP address 92.16.1.0/24 and plans to deploy
CIDR. Here are some requirements which you have to fulfill for Subnet
A= 120 hosts, Subnet B=60 hosts, Subnet C=30 hosts, Subnet D= 10
hosts, Subnet E= 5. You are also required to calculate subnet mask,
range, netid, broadcast id for each subnet.
1. Version: This 4-bit field defines the version of the IP protocol. Currently the
version is 4.
2. Header Length: This 4-bit field defines the total length of the datagram header
in 4-byte words. This field is needed because the length of the header is
variable (between 20 and 60 bytes).
3. Service Type: In the original design of IP header, this field was referred to as
type of service (TOS) , which defined how the datagram should be handled.
4. Total Length (16 bits): Total length of the datagram, measured in octets,
including header and data.
5. Identification (16 bits): A value assigned to aid in assembly of fragments.
6. Flags (3 bits): Various Control Flags.
7. Bit 0: Reserved. Must be 0.
8. Bit 1: (DF) 0 = May Fragment, 1 = Don’t Fragment
9. Bit 2: (MF) 0 = Last Fragment, 1 = More Fragments
10. Time to Live (8 bits): Maximum time the datagram is allowed to exist in the
system. Each router that handles the datagram decrements the TTL by 1.
11. Protocol: This 8-bit field defines the higher-level protocol that uses the services
of the IP layer. An IP datagram can encapsulate data from several higher level
protocols such as TCP, UDP, ICMP, and IGMP.
12. Checksum: It is used to detect error in the delivery of packet.
13. Source address: This 32-bit field defines the IP address of the source.
14. Destination address: This 32-bit field defines the IP address of the destination.
15. IP Option: this field is not used often, is optional and has a variable
length based on the options that were used. When you use this field, the
value in the header length field will increase. An example of a possible
option is “source route” where the sender requests for a certain routing
path.

EXAMPLE:
Disadvantage of Classful Addressing:

In classful addressing, a large part of the available addresses were wasted.

Class A with a mask of 255.0.0.0 can support 128 Network, 16,777,216 addresses per network and a total
of 2,147,483,648 addresses.
Class B with a mask of 255.255.0.0 can support 16,384 Network, 65,536 addresses per network and a
total of 1,073,741,824 addresses.
Class C with a mask of 255.255.255.0 can support 2,097,152 Network, 256 addresses per network and a
total of 536,870,912 addresses.
 IPv4 IPv6
IPv4 has a 32-bit address length IPv6 has a 128-bit address length

It Supports Manual and DHCP address configuration It supports Auto and renumbering address configuration

The address space of IPv6 is quite large it can produce

It can generate 4.29×109 address space
3.4×1038 address space

The Security feature is dependent on the application IPSEC is an inbuilt security feature in the IPv6 protocol

Address representation of IPv4 is in decimal Address Representation of IPv6 is in hexadecimal

Fragmentation performed by Sender and forwarding routers In IPv6 fragmentation is performed only by the sender

In IPv6 packet flow identification are Available and uses the

In IPv4 Packet flow identification is not available
flow label field in the header

In IPv4 checksum field is available In IPv6 checksum field is not available

In IPv6 multicast and anycast message transmission scheme is
It has a broadcast Message Transmission Scheme
available

In IPv6 Encryption and Authentication are provided

In IPv4 Encryption and Authentication facility not provided

IPv6 has a header of 40 bytes fixed

IPv4 has a header of 20-60 bytes.

IPv4 can be converted to IPv6 Not all IPv6 can be converted to IPv4
IPv4 consists of 4 fields which are separated by addresses dot
IPv6 consists of 8 fields, which are separated by a colon (:)
(.)
IPv4’s IP addresses are divided into five different classes. Class
IPv6 does not have any classes of the IP address.
A , Class B, Class C, Class D , Class E.
 Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
128
IPv6 is a 128-bits address having an address space of 2 , which is
way bigger than IPv4. IPv6 use Hexa-Decimal format separated by
colon (:) . Notably, IPv6 has drastically increased address
space compared to IPv4.

Format of an IPv6 address

An IPv6 address is 128 bits long and is arranged in eight groups, each of which
is 16 bits. Each group is expressed as four hexadecimal digits and the groups
are separated by colons.

An example of a full IPv6 address could be:

FE80:CD00:0000:0CDE:1257:0000:211E:729C
An IPv6 address is split into two parts: a network and a node
component. The network component is the first 64 bits of the
address and is used for routing. The node component is the later
64 bits and is used to identify the address of the interface.
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Header
Three basic parts that make up the address are the routing
prefix, the subnet ID and the interface ID.

Both the routing prefix and the subnet ID represent two main
levels in which the address is constructed -- either global or site-
specific. The routing prefix is the number of bits that can be
subdivided -- typically, decided by Internet Registries and Internet
Service Providers (ISPs). In IPv6 address, the leftmost set of
numbers -- the first 48 bits -- is called the site prefix. The subnet ID
is the next 16 bits. The subnet ID lays out site topology. The last
64-bits are called the interface ID, which can be automatically or
manually configured.
Types of IPv6 addresses
There are different types and formats of IPv6 addresses, of which, it's
notable to mention that there are no broadcast addresses in IPv6. Some
examples of IPv6 formats include:
•Global unicast. These addresses are routable on the internet and start
with "2001:" as the prefix group. Global unicast addresses are the
equivalent of IPv4 public addresses.
•Unicast address. Used to identify the interface of an individual node.
•Anycast address. Used to identify a group of interfaces on different
nodes.
•Multicast address. An address used to define Multicast Multicasts are
used to send a single packet to multiple destinations at one time.
•Link local addresses. One of the two internal address types that are
not routed on the internet. Link local addresses are used inside an
internal network, are self-assigned and start with "fe80:" as the prefix
group.
•Unique local addresses. This is the other type of internal address that
is not routed on the internet. Unique local addresses are equivalent to the
IPv4 addresses 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12 and 192.168.0.0/16.
Advantages and disadvantages of IPv6 addresses

IPv6 addresses can bring a variety of benefits, including:

•More efficient routing with smaller routing tables and aggregation of

prefixes.
•Simplified packet processing due to more streamlined packet
headers.
•Support of multicast packet flows.
•Hosts can generate their own IP addresses.
•Eliminates the need for network address translation (NAT).
•Easier to implement services like peer-to-peer (P2P) networks,
voice over IP (VoIP) and stronger security.

IPv6 also still uses the same two families of routing protocols –
Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) and Exterior Gateway Protocol
(EGP).