What does :: mean in a IPv6 address?

What does :: mean in an IPv6 address?

The following are examples of IPv6 addresses: 2001:0000:0eab:DEAD:0000:00A0:ABCD:004E. The use of the “::” symbol is a special syntax that you can use to compress one or more group of zeros or to compress leading or trailing zeros in an address.

Is :: A valid IPv6 address?

The following are valid IPv6 addresses. * :: is the IPv6 "unspecified address." It is a unicast address not assigned to any interface, and is used by a DHCP -dependent host prior to allocating a real IPv6 address.

What are IPv6 addresses beginning with FE80 :: used for?

IPv6 addresses beginning with FE80 are used for link-local unicast transmissions and are valid only in the local physical link (similar to the autoconfiguration IP address 169.254. x.x in IPv4). All other IP addresses are used for global unicast transmissions and are valid on the public Internet.

Does IPv6 use colons?

Most IPv6 addresses do not occupy all of their possible 128 bits. This condition results in fields that are padded with zeros or contain only zeros. The IPv6 addressing architecture allows you use the two-colon (::) notation to represent contiguous 16-bit fields of zeros.