Question

"For the following Solicited Node Multicast Address (SNMA)....

1:FF:46:A702
...where does the 1:FF part come from?"

Answer 1

'1:FF' is derived from the IPv6 address structure and is used to identify multicast addresses. The 'FF' in this specific SNMA represents the 'Flags' field, while '46:A702' is the Multicast Group Identifier (MCGI).

Step-by-step explanation:

The '1:FF' part of the Solicited Node Multicast Address (SNMA) is derived from the IPv6 address structure and is used to identify multicast addresses.

In an IPv6 address, the first 8 bits (the first hexadecimal digit) represent the address type, with '1' indicating a multicast address. The next 4 bits (the second hexadecimal digit) represent the flags and scope of the address.

The 'FF' in this specific SNMA represents the 'Flags' field, which is set to a fixed value of 'FF'. The '46:A702' is the actual Multicast Group Identifier (MCGI) that identifies the specific multicast group.