RFC 2466 HISTORIC MANAGEMENT · IPV6 · ICMPV6
Management Information Base for IP Version 6: ICMPv6 Group
Counting and monitoring diagnostic messages on IPv6 networks
RFC EDITOR
Haskin, D. and S. Onishi, "Management Information Base for IP Version 6: ICMPv6 Group", RFC 2466, DOI 10.17487/RFC2466, December 1998, <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2466>.
BIBTEX
@misc{rfc2466,
series = {Request for Comments},
number = 2466,
howpublished = {RFC 2466},
publisher = {RFC Editor},
doi = {10.17487/RFC2466},
url = {https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2466},
author = {D. Haskin and S. Onishi},
title = {{Management Information Base for IP Version 6: ICMPv6 Group}},
pagetotal = 16,
year = 1998,
month = dec,
} RFC text
Contents
Network Working Group D. Haskin
Request for Comments: 2466 S. Onishi
Category: Standards Track Bay Networks, Inc.
December 1998
Management Information Base for IP Version 6:
ICMPv6 Group
Status of this Memo
This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document is one in the series of documents that define various
MIB object groups for IPv6. Specifically, the ICMPv6 group is
defined in this document.
This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB)
for use with network management protocols in the IPv6-based
internets.
This document specifies a MIB module in a manner that is both
compliant to the SNMPv2 SMI, and semantically identical to the peer
SNMPv1 definitions.
Table of Contents
1. The SNMPv2 Network Management Framework ............. 2
1.1 Object Definitions ................................ 2
2. Overview ............................................ 2
3. The ICMPv6 Group .................................... 3
4. Acknowledgments .................................... 14
5. References .......................................... 14
6. Security Considerations ............................. 15
7. Authors' Addresses................................... 15
8. Full Copyright Statement............................. 16
1. The SNMPv2 Network Management Framework
The SNMPv2 Network Management Framework presently consists of three
major components. They are:
o the SMI, described in RFC 1902 [1] - the mechanisms used for
describing and naming objects for the purpose of management.
o the MIB-II, described in RFC 1213/STD 17 [3] - the core set of
managed objects for the Internet suite of protocols.
o RFC 1157/STD 15 [4] and RFC 1905 [5] which define two versions of the
protocol used for network access to managed objects.
The Framework permits new objects to be defined for the purpose of
experimentation and evaluation.
1.1. Object Definitions
Managed objects are accessed via a virtual information store, termed
the Management Information Base or MIB. Objects in the MIB are
defined using the subset of Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1)
defined in the SMI. In particular, each object type is named by an
OBJECT IDENTIFIER, an administratively assigned name. The object type
together with an object instance serves to uniquely identify a
specific instantiation of the object. For human convenience, we often
use a textual string, termed the descriptor, to refer to the object
type.
2. Overview
This document is the one in the series of documents that define
various MIB object groups for IPv6. These groups are the basic unit of
conformance: if the semantics of a group is applicable to an
implementation, then it must implement all objects in that group. For
example, an implementation must implement the TCP group if and only if
it implements the TCP over IPv6 protocol. At minimum, implementations
must implement the IPv6 General group [9] as well as the ICMPv6 group
defined in this document.
This document defines the ICMPv6 group of the IPv6 MIB.
3. The ICMPv6 Group
IPV6-ICMP-MIB DEFINITIONS ::= BEGIN
IMPORTS
MODULE-IDENTITY, OBJECT-TYPE,
Counter32, mib-2 FROM SNMPv2-SMI
MODULE-COMPLIANCE, OBJECT-GROUP FROM SNMPv2-CONF
ipv6IfEntry FROM IPV6-MIB;
ipv6IcmpMIB MODULE-IDENTITY
LAST-UPDATED "9801082155Z"
ORGANIZATION "IETF IPv6 Working Group"
CONTACT-INFO
" Dimitry Haskin
Postal: Bay Networks, Inc.
660 Techology Park Drive.
Billerica, MA 01821
US
Tel: +1-978-916-8124
E-mail: dhaskin@baynetworks.com
Steve Onishi
Postal: Bay Networks, Inc.
3 Federal Street
Billerica, MA 01821
US
Tel: +1-978-916-3816
E-mail: sonishi@baynetworks.com"
DESCRIPTION
"The MIB module for entities implementing
the ICMPv6."
::= { mib-2 56 }
-- the ICMPv6 group
ipv6IcmpMIBObjects OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ipv6IcmpMIB 1 }
-- Per-interface ICMPv6 statistics table
ipv6IfIcmpTable OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX SEQUENCE OF Ipv6IfIcmpEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"IPv6 ICMP statistics. This table contains statistics
of ICMPv6 messages that are received and sourced by
the entity."
::= { ipv6IcmpMIBObjects 1 }
ipv6IfIcmpEntry OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Ipv6IfIcmpEntry
MAX-ACCESS not-accessible
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"An ICMPv6 statistics entry containing
objects at a particular IPv6 interface.
Note that a receiving interface is
the interface to which a given ICMPv6 message
is addressed which may not be necessarily
the input interface for the message.
Similarly, the sending interface is
the interface that sources a given
ICMP message which is usually but not
necessarily the output interface for the message."
AUGMENTS { ipv6IfEntry }
::= { ipv6IfIcmpTable 1 }
Ipv6IfIcmpEntry ::= SEQUENCE {
ipv6IfIcmpInMsgs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInErrors
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInDestUnreachs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInAdminProhibs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInTimeExcds
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInParmProblems
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInPktTooBigs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInEchos
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInEchoReplies
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInRouterSolicits
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInRouterAdvertisements
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInNeighborSolicits
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInNeighborAdvertisements
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInRedirects
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembQueries
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembResponses
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembReductions
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutMsgs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutErrors
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutDestUnreachs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutAdminProhibs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutTimeExcds
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutParmProblems
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutPktTooBigs
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutEchos
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutEchoReplies
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutRouterSolicits
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutRouterAdvertisements
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutNeighborSolicits
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutNeighborAdvertisements
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutRedirects
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembQueries
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembResponses
Counter32 ,
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembReductions
Counter32
}
ipv6IfIcmpInMsgs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of ICMP messages received
by the interface which includes all those
counted by ipv6IfIcmpInErrors. Note that this
interface is the interface to which the
ICMP messages were addressed which may not be
necessarily the input interface for the messages."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 1 }
ipv6IfIcmpInErrors OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP messages which the interface
received but determined as having ICMP-specific
errors (bad ICMP checksums, bad length, etc.)."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 2 }
ipv6IfIcmpInDestUnreachs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Destination Unreachable
messages received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 3 }
ipv6IfIcmpInAdminProhibs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP destination
unreachable/communication administratively
prohibited messages received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 4 }
ipv6IfIcmpInTimeExcds OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Time Exceeded messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 5 }
ipv6IfIcmpInParmProblems OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Parameter Problem messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 6 }
ipv6IfIcmpInPktTooBigs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Packet Too Big messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 7 }
ipv6IfIcmpInEchos OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Echo (request) messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 8 }
ipv6IfIcmpInEchoReplies OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Echo Reply messages received
by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 9 }
ipv6IfIcmpInRouterSolicits OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Router Solicit messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 10 }
ipv6IfIcmpInRouterAdvertisements OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Router Advertisement messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 11 }
ipv6IfIcmpInNeighborSolicits OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Neighbor Solicit messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 12 }
ipv6IfIcmpInNeighborAdvertisements OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Neighbor Advertisement
messages received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 13 }
ipv6IfIcmpInRedirects OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of Redirect messages received
by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 14 }
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembQueries OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMPv6 Group Membership Query
messages received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 15}
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembResponses OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMPv6 Group Membership Response messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 16}
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembReductions OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMPv6 Group Membership Reduction messages
received by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 17}
ipv6IfIcmpOutMsgs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The total number of ICMP messages which this
interface attempted to send. Note that this counter
includes all those counted by icmpOutErrors."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 18 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutErrors OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP messages which this interface did
not send due to problems discovered within ICMP
such as a lack of buffers. This value should not
include errors discovered outside the ICMP layer
such as the inability of IPv6 to route the resultant
datagram. In some implementations there may be no
types of error which contribute to this counter's
value."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 19 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutDestUnreachs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Destination Unreachable
messages sent by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 20 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutAdminProhibs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"Number of ICMP dest unreachable/communication
administratively prohibited messages sent."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 21 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutTimeExcds OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Time Exceeded messages sent
by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 22 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutParmProblems OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Parameter Problem messages
sent by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 23 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutPktTooBigs OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Packet Too Big messages sent
by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 24 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutEchos OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Echo (request) messages sent
by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 25 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutEchoReplies OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Echo Reply messages sent
by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 26 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutRouterSolicits OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Router Solicitation messages
sent by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 27 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutRouterAdvertisements OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Router Advertisement messages
sent by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 28 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutNeighborSolicits OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Neighbor Solicitation
messages sent by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 29 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutNeighborAdvertisements OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMP Neighbor Advertisement
messages sent by the interface."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 30 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutRedirects OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of Redirect messages sent. For
a host, this object will always be zero,
since hosts do not send redirects."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 31 }
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembQueries OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMPv6 Group Membership Query
messages sent."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 32}
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembResponses OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMPv6 Group Membership Response
messages sent."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 33}
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembReductions OBJECT-TYPE
SYNTAX Counter32
MAX-ACCESS read-only
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The number of ICMPv6 Group Membership Reduction
messages sent."
::= { ipv6IfIcmpEntry 34}
-- conformance information
ipv6IcmpConformance OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ipv6IcmpMIB 2 }
ipv6IcmpCompliances
OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ipv6IcmpConformance 1 }
ipv6IcmpGroups
OBJECT IDENTIFIER ::= { ipv6IcmpConformance 2 }
-- compliance statements
ipv6IcmpCompliance MODULE-COMPLIANCE
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The compliance statement for SNMPv2 entities which
implement ICMPv6."
MODULE -- this module
MANDATORY-GROUPS { ipv6IcmpGroup }
::= { ipv6IcmpCompliances 1 }
ipv6IcmpGroup OBJECT-GROUP
OBJECTS {
ipv6IfIcmpInMsgs,
ipv6IfIcmpInErrors,
ipv6IfIcmpInDestUnreachs,
ipv6IfIcmpInAdminProhibs,
ipv6IfIcmpInTimeExcds,
ipv6IfIcmpInParmProblems,
ipv6IfIcmpInPktTooBigs,
ipv6IfIcmpInEchos,
ipv6IfIcmpInEchoReplies,
ipv6IfIcmpInRouterSolicits,
ipv6IfIcmpInRouterAdvertisements,
ipv6IfIcmpInNeighborSolicits,
ipv6IfIcmpInNeighborAdvertisements,
ipv6IfIcmpInRedirects,
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembQueries,
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembResponses,
ipv6IfIcmpInGroupMembReductions,
ipv6IfIcmpOutMsgs,
ipv6IfIcmpOutErrors,
ipv6IfIcmpOutDestUnreachs,
ipv6IfIcmpOutAdminProhibs,
ipv6IfIcmpOutTimeExcds,
ipv6IfIcmpOutParmProblems,
ipv6IfIcmpOutPktTooBigs,
ipv6IfIcmpOutEchos,
ipv6IfIcmpOutEchoReplies,
ipv6IfIcmpOutRouterSolicits,
ipv6IfIcmpOutRouterAdvertisements,
ipv6IfIcmpOutNeighborSolicits,
ipv6IfIcmpOutNeighborAdvertisements,
ipv6IfIcmpOutRedirects,
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembQueries,
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembResponses,
ipv6IfIcmpOutGroupMembReductions
}
STATUS current
DESCRIPTION
"The ICMPv6 group of objects providing information
specific to ICMPv6."
::= { ipv6IcmpGroups 1 }
END
4. Acknowledgments
This document borrows from MIB works produced by IETF for IPv4-based
internets.
We would like to thanks the following people for constructive and
valuable comments:
Mike Daniele,
Margaret Forsythe,
Jean-Pierre Roch,
Juergen Schoenwaelder,
Vivek Venkatraman.
5. References
[1] SNMPv2 Working Group, Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M.,
and S. Waldbusser, "Structure of Management Information for
Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)",
RFC 1902, January 1996.
[2] SNMPv2 Working Group, Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M., and S.
Waldbusser, "Textual Conventions for Version 2 of the Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1903, January 1996.
[3] McCloghrie, K., and M. Rose, Editors, "Management Information
Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets: MIB-II",
STD 17, RFC 1213, March 1991.
[4] Case, J., Fedor, M., Schoffstall, M. and J. Davin, "A Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP)", STD 15, RFC 1157, May 1990.
[5] SNMPv2 Working Group, Case, J., McCloghrie, K., Rose, M. and S.
Waldbusser, "Protocol Operations for Version 2 of the Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1905, January 1996.
[6] McCloghrie, K. and F. Kastenholz, "Evolution of the Interfaces
Group of MIB-II", RFC 1573, January 1994.
[7] Deering, S. and R. Hinden, Editors, "Internet Protocol, Version 6
(IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998.
[8] Conta, A. and S. Deering, "Internet Control Message Protocol
(ICMPv6) for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)
Specification", RFC 2463, December 1998.
[9] Haskin, D., and S. Onishi, "Management Information Base for IP
Version 6: Textual Conventions and General Group", RFC 2465,
December 1998.
6. Security Considerations
Certain management information defined in this MIB may be considered
sensitive in some network environments.
Therefore, authentication of received SNMP requests and controlled
access to management information should be employed in such
environments.
7. Authors' Addresses
Dimitry Haskin
Bay Networks, Inc.
600 Technology Park Drive
Billerica, MA 01821
EMail: dhaskin@baynetworks.com
Steve Onishi
Bay Networks, Inc.
3 Federal Street
Billerica, MA 01821
EMail: sonishi@baynetworks.com
8. Full Copyright Statement
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998). All Rights Reserved.
This document and translations of it may be copied and furnished to
others, and derivative works that comment on or otherwise explain it
or assist in its implementation may be prepared, copied, published
and distributed, in whole or in part, without restriction of any
kind, provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are
included on all such copies and derivative works. However, this
document itself may not be modified in any way, such as by removing
the copyright notice or references to the Internet Society or other
Internet organizations, except as needed for the purpose of
developing Internet standards in which case the procedures for
copyrights defined in the Internet Standards process must be
followed, or as required to translate it into languages other than
English.
The limited permissions granted above are perpetual and will not be
revoked by the Internet Society or its successors or assigns.
This document and the information contained herein is provided on an
"AS IS" basis and THE INTERNET SOCIETY AND THE INTERNET ENGINEERING
TASK FORCE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING
BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE INFORMATION
HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
AI ELI5
On this page
PROBLEMIPv6 uses ICMPv6 for error reporting and network diagnostics, such as notifying when a packet is too large to forward or when a destination cannot be reached. Network managers need to monitor these messages.
MECHANISMThis RFC defines a MIB group with per-interface counters for each type of ICMPv6 message sent and received, including echo requests, router solicitations, neighbor solicitations, error messages, and multicast group membership messages.
HISTORIC, REPLACEDNetwork managers can now monitor ICMPv6 traffic to diagnose network problems and detect network abuse, though this RFC is now historic and replaced by RFC 4293 and RFC 8096.
§1What ICMPv6 Does
ICMPv6 (Internet Control Message Protocol for IPv6) is the way IPv6 devices communicate about problems and ask questions. Unlike ordinary data packets, which carry the actual information an application is sending, ICMP messages carry status information about the network itself.
For example, if a router finds that a packet is too big to send on the next link, it sends an ICMPv6 "Packet Too Big" message back to the sender. If a device wants to discover nearby routers, it sends an ICMPv6 "Router Solicitation" message. These diagnostic and discovery messages are essential to IPv6 operation.
ICMPv6 is like a feedback channel: when something goes wrong with a delivery, you send a message back to say what happened. When you need information about the network, you ask a question.
§2The ICMPv6 Statistics Table
This RFC defines a single table with per-interface ICMPv6 statistics. For each IPv6 interface on a device, the table tracks counters for messages received and messages sent.
The received side counts how many ICMPv6 messages arrived on the interface, including successful ones and those with errors. The sent side counts how many ICMPv6 messages the interface has transmitted.
Important: a receiving interface is the one to which the message is addressed (where it arrives after routing), which may not be the physical input interface. Similarly, a sending interface is where the message originates, not necessarily where it exits the device.
The table has one row per interface. For each row, you can see how many messages came in and how many went out.
§3Message Types Counted
The table distinguishes between many ICMPv6 message types:
Error messages report problems: Destination Unreachable (no route exists), Time Exceeded (hop limit reached zero), Parameter Problem (error in the header), and Packet Too Big (packet exceeds path MTU).
Query messages ask questions: Echo Request (like ping), Echo Reply (response to ping), Router Solicitation (asking what routers are here), and Router Advertisement (routers announcing themselves).
Neighbor Discovery messages manage link-local operations: Neighbor Solicitation (asking what physical address matches an IPv6 address, like ARP) and Neighbor Advertisement (answering that question). Redirect messages tell a host a better route exists.
Multicast group membership messages manage multicast (one-to-many) communication: Group Membership Query (asking who is listening), Group Membership Response (saying you are listening), and Group Membership Reduction (saying you are no longer listening).
The table also tracks the total count of messages received and sent, plus error counts for malformed messages.
There are error messages (something went wrong), questions (do you see routers?), friendship messages (are you my neighbor?), and party messages (is anyone listening to the broadcast?).
§4Using ICMPv6 Statistics for Network Diagnosis
Network managers can use these counters to understand network health. A high count of Time Exceeded messages might indicate that the hop limit is set too low somewhere, or that there is a routing loop. A rising count of Destination Unreachable messages suggests routing problems or configuration errors.
Echo Request and Reply counters show how much ping activity is on the network. Neighbor Solicitation and Advertisement counters indicate normal address discovery traffic. Sudden spikes can reveal network scanning or attacks.
The error counters help detect malformed packets or corrupted ICMP implementations. If one interface consistently shows high error rates while others do not, the problem may be on that interface or the device attached to it.
Many error messages mean something is broken. Many questions mean devices are looking for routers. Sudden spikes might mean an attacker is probing the network.
§5Security Implications of ICMPv6 Statistics
ICMPv6 statistics reveal how the network is operating, which can be useful for an attacker planning attacks. For example, knowing which devices respond to Router Solicitations tells an attacker where routers are located. Seeing a spike in Destination Unreachable messages might reveal network instability.
Additionally, ICMPv6 messages themselves can be weaponized: a flood of Packet Too Big messages can trigger denial-of-service conditions, and malformed ICMPv6 messages might trigger implementation bugs.
The RFC recommends protecting access to these statistics with SNMPv3 authentication and encryption. Administrators should consider rate-limiting ICMPv6 messages to prevent flooding attacks, while still allowing legitimate diagnostic traffic.
Knowing what messages are flying around tells attackers what is happening. Fake messages can cause trouble. You need a lock on who can look at these counters.
§6References
[1]RFC 1902SNMPv2 Working Group, McCloghrie, K., Editor, "Structure of Management Information for Version 2 of the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMPv2)", RFC 1902, January 1996.January 1996[3]RFC 1213McCloghrie, K., and M. Rose, Editors, "Management Information Base for Network Management of TCP/IP-based internets: MIB-II", RFC 1213, STD 17, March 1991.March 1991[4]RFC 1157Case, J., Fedor, M., Schoffstall, M., and J. Davin, "A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)", RFC 1157, STD 15, May 1990.May 1990[7]RFC 2460Deering, S., and R. Hinden, Editors, "Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2460, December 1998.December 1998[8]RFC 2463Conta, A., and S. Deering, "Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification", RFC 2463, December 1998.December 1998[9]RFC 2465Haskin, D., and S. Onishi, "Management Information Base for IP Version 6: Textual Conventions and General Group", RFC 2465, December 1998.December 1998