IPv6 Fundamentals

Analyst
Exam Guide
 IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst Exam Guide

The IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst exam is intended for individuals who are familiar
with best current practices in IPv6.

Recommended Knowledge: Exam Structure:

It is recommended that candidates have at least three months of

experience in working with IPv6 addresses and creating an IPv6
addressing plan and/or have participated in an IPv6 training course, or
followed IPv6 webinars or have taken the IPv6 e-learning course on the
RIPE NCC Academy. 50 60
minutes
70
The exam validates the ability to:

• Identify the advantages of IPv6 deployment

• Write an IPv6 address according to the best current practices Number of Time limit Passing score
• Identify the scope of the different IPv6 address types questions
• Calculate IPv6 subnets
• Identify the different IPv6-related protocols Exam cost: 199 euros (Including 21% VAT).
• Identify the different and security concerns of the IPv6 protocol RIPE NCC members receive three exam vouchers per year.
• Create an IPv6 addressing plan Talk to your LIR contact to use your vouchers.
• Recognise the application of specific IPv6 transition mechanisms

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 2

 Types of Questions

The exam contains different types of questions: Exam Content Distribution:

Multiple choice: Has one correct response and three incorrect responses. Domain Percent of Exam
Multiple response: Has two or more correct responses out of five or more
alternatives. Introduction to IPv6 4%

Matching: contains a list of items or statements that must be correctly

IPv6 Address Architecture 32%
matched to another list of items or statements.
Drag and drop: Drag words or images into gaps in a paragraph of text or a
IPv6 Protocols 44%
base image.

IPv6 Policies and Addressing Plans 20%

Unanswered questions are scored as incorrect.

Unscored Items:

The exam may contain items that are included in the exam to trial run
new exam questions for other RIPE NCC certifications. These items are not
identified and will not count towards your score. Only the scored items are
worth 100% of your score.

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 3

 Exam Outline

To pass the exam, you must possess the minimum level of knowledge, 2.2. Subnetting in IPv6
skills and abilities in understanding and performing the following: 2.2.1 Calculate subnets in IPv6
2.2.2 Calculate the amount of prefixes inside a bigger IPv6 block
1. Introduction to IPv6 2.2.3 Apply Best Current Practices to IPv6 subnetting (subnet sizes) for
1.1. Purpose and advantages of IPv6 deployment operations (RFC 4291)
1.1.1 Recognise how IPv4 exhaustion affects the development of the Internet 2.2.4 Describe the importance of IPv6 subnetting
1.1.2 Identify the advantages of deploying IPv6 2.2.5 Define subnetting
1.1.3 Describe the challenges/impact of NAT/CGN solutions in the 2.2.6 Apply the 4 bit-boundary rule for subnetting
development of the Internet 2.2.7 Subdivide any size IPv6 address blocks into any size smaller blocks (e.g.
1.1.4 Identify the challenges with IPv6-only networks and IPv4-only networks dividing a /32 into /36 or /48 or /64, limited to the nibble boundaries)
2.2.8 Calculate the total number of blocks that fit in a larger block (e.g. how

2. IPv6 Address Architecture many /48s fit in a /32)

2.1. IPv6 Address Notation and address types

2.1.1 Describe the parts of an IPv6 address: network prefix and Interface ID 3. IPv6 Protocols
2.1.2 Write and compress an IPv6 address according to the Best Current 3.1. IPv6 protocol basics

Practices stated in RFC5952 (e.g., leading zeros, zero compression,upper/ 3.1.1 Describe how Neighbor Discovery works

lower case, port numbers, whois search,etc 3.1.2 Describe how SLAAC works

2.1.3 Identify the different IPv6 address types and their function/scope in a 3.1.3 Explain the options available for IPv6 autoconfiguration (M, O, A, L flags)

network/interface (RFC 4038; 4193; 4291, https://www.iana.org/assignments/ 3.1.4 Identify the Solicited Node Multicast Address

ipv6-address-space/) 3.1.5 Explain how Solicited Node multicast addresses are created and used

2.1.4 Identify the specific ranges used for each IPv6 address type 3.1.6 Describe how Multicast works in IPv6

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 4

 Exam Outline

3.1.7 Explain the importance of multicast in IPv6 3.3. Supporting protocols and IPv6 deployment
3.1.8 Identify the main characteristics of IPv6 and how they impact a network 3.3.1 Explain the purpose of DAD (Duplicate Address Detection)
3.3.2 Explain the purpose of NUD (Neighbor Unreachability Detection)
3.2. IPv6 packets 3.3.3 Explain the function of the MLD protocol (Multicast Listener Discovery)
3.2.1 Identify the components of the IPv6 part of the packet (Basic header & 3.3.4 Classify the MLD protocol messages
extension headers) 3.3.5 Describe the purpose of Address Resolution (equivalent to ARP in IPv4)
3.2.2 Describe the Basic IPv6 header 3.3.6 Describe the purpose of Router Discovery
3.2.3 Identify the main IPv6 extension headers 3.3.7 Identify the different ways of assigning address in IPv6 (manual config,
3.2.4 Identify the common values of Next Header Fields SLAAC, RA + DHCPv6 (M or O flags)
3.2.5 Describe the importance of the IPv6 headers order 3.3.8 Identify the configuration information provided by Router Advertisement
3.2.6 Describe the usage of the IPv6 extension headers messages
3.2.7 Describe how fragmentation works in IPv6 3.3.9 Describe privacy extensions for SLAAC
3.2.8 Describe the path MTU Discovery (PMTU-D) process in IPv6 3.3.10 Describe Cryptographically Generated Addresses (CGA)
3.2.9 Describe the importance of each supporting protocol used in IPv6 3.3.11 Ex Describe the process to generate Global Unicast IPv6 addresses (link
(PMTU-D, DHCPv6, DAD, ND, NUD, SLAAC, etc) prefix + Random interface ID) plain
3.2.10 Describe how Neighbor Discovery Protocol works in IPv6 (Link scope, 3.3.12 Explain how DHCPv6 works
Five messages, Multicast addresses) 3.3.13 Describe the importance of DHCPv6 for IPv6 deployment
3.2.11 Identify the elements of Neighbor Discovery in IPv6 and their 3.3.14 Identify which information can be sent using DHCPv6
importance 3.3.15 Identify DHCPv6 scenarios (stateful vs. stateless)
3.3.16 Identify IPv6 DNS records
3.3.17 Create reverse DNS in IPv6
3.3.18 Identify how IPv6 is supported in forward and/or in reverse DNS (AAAA,
ip6.arpa)

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 5

 Exam Outline

3.3.19 Identify the security aspects to consider with IPv6 networks (RA, human 4. IPv6 Policies and Addressing Plans
error,etc) 4.1. RIPE Policies and IPv6
3.3.20 Identify solutions to overcome existing and new security risks (RA 4.1.1 Identify the requirements/procedures to receive and distribute IPv6
Guard, SEND, etc) address space according to the current RIPE policies (considering criteria for
3.3.21 Select the basic network design principles to be used in an IPv6 different subnet sizes)
deployment 4.1.2 Distinguish between IPv6 allocations, assignments and sub-allocations
3.3.20 Identify solutions to overcome existing and new security risks (RA 4.1.3 Identify IPv6 assignments/sub-allocations in the RIPE Database
Guard, SEND, etc) 4.1.4 Identify how the different RIPE Database inet6num object statuses apply
3.3.21 Select the basic network design principles to be used in an IPv6 to real network situations
deployment 4.1.5 Identify the criteria for different possible allocation sizes (users, network
extension, hierarchical/geo structure, longevity and security levels)
3.4. Transition Mechanisms
3.4.1 Identify the IPv6 Transition Mechanisms 4.2 Addressing Plans
3.4.2 Identify the use case of a specific Transition Mechanism 4.2.1 Create an Addressing Plan according to the current best practices in IPv6
3.4.3 Identify what elements to consider when creating a transition strategy 4.2.2 Choose the recommended prefix lengths for infrastructure (POPs,
3.4.4 Describe dual-stack and its pros and cons routers, LAN, Point-to-point links etc) and for end user assignments (home,
3.4.5 Describe tunneling and its pros and cons business, point-to-point links, etc)
3.4.6 Identify examples of tunneling transition mechanisms 4.2.3 Differentiate between infrastructure and end user address space
3.4.7 Describe translation and its pros and cons 4.2.4 Justify that a /64 is the minimum subnet size to be assigned to an end
user
4.2.5 Identify the importance of using IPAM tools

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 6

 Learning Resources

1. Introduction to IPv6
1.1. Purpose and advantages of IPv6 deployment
RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

1.1.1 Recognise how IPv4 exhaustion affects the development of Module 1.2 Yes
the Internet

1.1.2 Identify the advantages of deploying IPv6 Module 1.3 Yes Partially

1.1.3 Describe the challenges/impact of NAT/CGN solutions in the Module 1.2 Yes
development of the Internet

1.1.4 Identify the challenges with IPv6-only networks and Partially

IPv4-only networks

2. IPv6 Address Architecture

2.1. IPv6 address notation and address types

2.1.1 Describe the parts of an IPv6 address: network prefix and Module 2.1
Yes Yes Yes Yes Partially
Module 2.2
Interface ID
2.1.2 Write and compress an IPv6 address according to Module 2.1 Yes Yes Yes
the Best Current Practices stated in RFC5952

2.1.3 Identify the different IPv6 address types and their Module 2.3 Yes Yes Yes
function/scope in a network/interface

2.1.4 Identify the specific ranges used for each IPv6 address type Module 2.3 Yes Partially Yes

2.1.5 Generate an IPv6 ULA (Unique Local Address) prefix Yes Yes

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 7

 Learning Resources

2.2. Subnetting in IPv6

RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

2.2.1 Calculate subnets in IPv6 Module 2.2 Yes Yes Yes

2.2.2 Calculate the amount of prefixes inside a bigger IPv6 block Module 2.2 Yes Yes Partially Yes

2.2.3 Apply Best Current Practices to IPv6 subnetting Module 6.1 Yes Yes
Yes Yes Partially
(subnet sizes) for operations (RFC 4291)

2.2.4 Describe the importance of IPv6 subnetting Module 2.2 Yes Yes Yes Yes

2.2.5 Define subnetting Module 2.2 Yes Yes Yes Yes

2.2.6 Apply the 4 bit-boundary rule for subnetting Module 2.2 Yes Yes Yes Partially Yes

2.2.7 Subdivide any size IPv6 address blocks into any size smaller Module 2.2
Yes Yes Yes Yes
blocks Activity 2.1

2.2.8 Calculate the total number of blocks that fit in a larger block Module 2.2
Yes Yes Partially Yes
Activity 2.1
(e.g. how many /48s fit in a /32).

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 8

 Learning Resources

3. IPv6 Protocols
3.1. IPv6 protocol basics
RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

3.1.1 Describe how Neighbor Discovery works Module 4.1 Yes Partially

3.1.2 Describe how SLAAC works Module 4.2 Yes

3.1.3 Explain the options available for IPv6 autoconfiguration (M, Module 4.3
Partially Partially
Partially
O, A, L flags)
Module 4.4 Yes
3.1.4 Identify the Solicited Node Multicast Address Partially
Partially

3.1.5 Explain how Solicited Node multicast addresses are created Module 4.2 Yes Partially
Partially
and used

3.1.6 Describe how Multicast works in IPv6 Yes Partially

3.1.7 Explain the importance of multicast in IPv6 Module 4.1 Yes Yes

3.1.8 Identify the main characteristics of IPv6 and how they

Module 1.3 Yes Yes
impact a network

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 9

 Learning Resources

3.2. IPv6 packets

RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

3.2.1 Identify the components of the IPv6 part of the packet Module 1.3
Module 2.4 Yes Yes
(Basic header & extension headers)

3.2.2 Describe the Basic IPv6 header Module 2.4 Yes Yes

3.2.3 Identify the main IPv6 extension headers Module 2.4 Yes Partially
Yes

3.2.4 Identify the common values of Next Header Fields Yes

3.2.5 Describe the importance of the IPv6 headers order Module 2.4 Yes Yes

3.2.6 Describe the usage of the IPv6 extension headers Module 2.4 Yes Yes

3.2.7 Describe how fragmentation works in IPv6 Yes Yes

3.2.8 Describe the path MTU Discovery (PMTU-D) process in IPv6 Yes

3.2.9 Describe the importance of each supporting protocol used Module 4.3
Yes Partially
in IPv6 (PMTU-D, DHCPv6, DAD, ND, NUD, SLAAC, etc) Only DHCP

3.2.10 Describe how Neighbor Discovery Protocol works in IPv6 Module 4.1 Yes Yes
(Link scope, Five messages, Multicast addresses) Partially

Module 4.2
3.2.11 Identify the elements of Neighbor Discovery in IPv6 and Module 4.1 Yes Yes
their importance Partially

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 10

 Learning Resources

3.3. Supporting protocols and IPv6 deployment

RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

3.3.1 Explain the purpose of DAD (Duplicate Address Detection) Module 4.2 Yes Yes

3.3.2 Explain the purpose of NUD (Neighbor Unreachability Yes

Yes
Detection)

3.3.3 Explain the function of the MLD protocol (Multicast Listener Yes Partially
Yes
Discovery)

3.3.4 Classify the MLD protocol messages Yes Yes

3.3.5 Describe the purpose of Address Resolution (equivalent to ARP Module 4.1 Yes Yes
in IPv4)

3.3.6 Describe the purpose of Router Discovery Module 4.1 Yes Yes

3.3.7 Identify the different ways of assigning address in IPv6 (manual Module 4.3 Yes Partially
config, SLAAC, RA + DHCPv6 (M or O flags)

3.3.8 Identify the configuration information provided by Router Module 4.1 Yes Partially
Advertisement messages

3.3.9 Describe privacy extensions for SLAAC Yes Yes

3.3.10 Describe Cryptographically Generated Addresses (CGA)their

Yes Yes
importance

3.3.11 Describe the process to generate Global Unicast IPv6 Module 4.2 Yes Yes
addresses (link prefix + Random interface ID)

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 11

 Learning Resources

3.3. Supporting protocols and IPv6 deployment

RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

3.3.12 Explain how DHCPv6 works Module 4.3 Yes Yes

3.3.13 Describe the importance of DHCPv6 for IPv6 deployment Module 4.3 Yes

3.3.14 Identify which information can be sent using DHCPv6 Module 4.3 Yes Yes
Partially

3.3.15 Identify DHCPv6 scenarios (stateful vs. stateless) Module 4.3 Yes Yes

3.3.16 Identify IPv6 DNS records Module 4.5 Yes

3.3.17 Create reverse DNS in IPv6 Module 4.5 Yes

3.3.18 Identify how IPv6 is supported in forward and/or in reverse Module 4.5 Yes
DNS (AAAA, ip6.arpa)

3.3.19 Identify the security aspects to consider with IPv6 Module 7.1 Partially Yes
networks (RA, human error,etc)

3.3.20 Identify solutions to overcome existing and new security Module 7.1 Partially Yes
risks (RA Guard, SEND, etc)

3.3.21 Select the basic network design principles to be used in an Module 6.2 Partially Partially
Partially
IPv6 deployment

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 12

 Learning Resources

3.4. Transition Mechanisms

RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

Module 3.1, 3.2,

3.4.1 Identify the IPv6 Transition Mechanisms 3.3, 3.4, 3.5; Partially
Activity 3.1

Module 3.1, 3.2,

3.4.2 Identify the use case of a specific Transition Mechanism 3.3, 3.4, 3.5; Partially
Activity 3.1

3.4.3 Identify what elements to consider when creating a transition Partially

strategy

3.4.4 Describe dual-stack and its pros and cons Yes

Module 3.1 Yes

3.4.5 Describe tunneling and its pros and cons Partially

Module 3.1, 3.2,

3.4.6 Identify examples of tunneling transition mechanisms 3.3, 3.4, 3.5;
Activity 3.1

3.4.7 Describe translation and its pros and cons Yes

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 13

 Learning Resources

4. IPv6 Policies and Addressing Plans

4.1. RIPE Policies and IPv6
RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

4.1.1 Identify the requirements/procedures to receive and distribute Module 5.2

Yes Yes
IPv6 address space according to the current RIPE policies Activity 5.1

Module 5.1
4.1.2 Distinguish between IPv6 allocations, assignments and Yes Yes Partially
Module 5.3
sub-allocations Partially

4.1.3 Identify IPv6 assignments/sub-allocations in the RIPE Database Module 5.3 Yes Yes Yes

4.1.4 Identify how the different RIPE Database inet6num object Module 5.3 Yes Yes
Yes
statuses apply to real network situations.

4.1.5 Identify the criteria for different possible allocation sizes Module 5.2 Yes Yes
Partially

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 14

 Learning Resources

4.2. Addressing Plans

RIPE NCC Training Training Webinar Webinar Webinar Webinar
Academy Course Course Introduction to IPv6 IPv6 in the IPv6 Prefix
Introduction to IPv6 Basics IPv6 Security IPv6 [2 hours] Addressing RIPE Database Calculation
IPv6 [16 hours] [1 day] [1 day] Plans [1 hour] 1 hour] [1 hour]

4.2.1 Create an Addressing Plan according to the current best Module 6.2 Yes Yes
practices in IPv6

4.2.2 Choose the recommended prefix lengths for infrastructure Module 6.2 Yes Yes Yes
and for end user assignments

4.2.3 Differentiate between infrastructure and end user address Module 6.2 Yes Partially Yes
space
4.2.4 Justify that a /64 is the minimum subnet size to be assigned Module 6.2 Yes Yes Yes
to an end user

Yes
4.2.5 Identify the importance of using IPAM tools Yes

RIPE NCC Certified Professionals | IPv6 Fundamentals - Analyst | Exam guide 15

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