3. Changes to RFC 2396

   This document updates the generic syntax for Uniform Resource
   Identifiers defined in RFC 2396 [URL].  It defines a syntax for IPv6
   addresses and allows the use of "[" and "]" within a URI explicitly
   for this reserved purpose.







 
RFC 2732            IPv6 Literal Addresses in URL's        December 1999


   The following changes to the syntax in RFC 2396 are made:
   (1) change the 'host' non-terminal to add an IPv6 option:

      host          = hostname | IPv4address | IPv6reference
      ipv6reference = "[" IPv6address "]"

   where IPv6address is defined as in RFC2373 [ARCH].

   (2) Replace the definition of 'IPv4address' with that of RFC 2373, as
   it correctly defines an IPv4address as consisting of at most three
   decimal digits per segment.

   (3) Add "[" and "]" to the set of 'reserved' characters:

      reserved    = ";" | "/" | "?" | ":" | "@" | "&" | "=" | "+" |
                    "$" | "," | "[" | "]"

   and remove them from the 'unwise' set:

      unwise      = "{" | "}" | "|" | "\" | "^" | "`"

4. Security Considerations

   The use of this approach to represent literal IPv6 addresses in URL's
   does not introduce any known new security concerns.

5. IANA Considerations

   None.























 
RFC 2732            IPv6 Literal Addresses in URL's        December 1999


6. Authors' Addresses

   Robert M. Hinden
   Nokia
   313 Fairchild Drive
   Mountain View, CA 94043
   USA

   Phone: +1 650 625 2004
   EMail: hinden@iprg.nokia.com
   Web: http://www.iprg.nokia.com/~hinden


   Brian E. Carpenter
   IBM
   iCAIR, Suite 150
   1890 Maple Avenue
   Evanston IL 60201
   USA

   EMail: brian@icair.org


   Larry Masinter
   AT&T Labs
   75 Willow Road