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replaced https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc with https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc

According to RFC 4291, Section 2.7: Multicast Addresses, the first 8 bits (FF in FF0X) at the beginning of identifies the address as a muticast address.


The flags, the next 4 bits, (the first 0 in FF0X) in the question indicate:

... a permanently-assigned ("well-known") multicast address, assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).


The next 4 bits, (the last hex value 0 or 2 in FF00 or FF02) define the scope:

 0 reserved [...] 2 Link-Local scope [...] 

The reserved scope is reserved for future use.

The Link-local scope means, that packages within that scope will never be routed and therefore cannot leave the subnet.


So the addesses mean he following:

  • ::1: This is the loopback address, whose IPv4-equivalent is 127.0.0.1.
  • fe00::0: Can be compared to the Class E address space in IPv4, therefore it's in the reserved scope; reserved for future use.
  • ff02::1: The group of all IPv6 nodes (including the routers) in the Link-local scope, whose IPv4-equivalent is 224.0.0.1.
  • ff02::2: The group of all IPv6 routers in the Link-local scope, whose IPv4-equivalent is 224.0.0.2.
  • ff02::3: This exists no longer an is unassigned at the moment. Earlier it stood for the group of all hosts (excluding the routers) in the Link-local scope.

Further reading / References:

chaos
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