Editing IPv6 (section)

===Extension headers===
[[File:IPv6 headers sequence-en.svg|thumb|Several examples of IPv6 extension headers]]

The IPv6 packet header has a minimum size of 40 octets (320 bits). Options are implemented as extensions. This provides the opportunity to extend the protocol in the future without affecting the core packet structure.<ref name="rfc2460"/> However, RFC 7872 notes that some network operators drop IPv6 packets with extension headers when they traverse transit [[Autonomous system (Internet)|autonomous systems]].

====Jumbograms====
IPv4 limits packets to 65,535 {{nowrap|(2<sup>16</sup> − 1)}} octets of payload. An IPv6 node can optionally handle packets over this limit, referred to as [[jumbogram]]s, which can be as large as 4,294,967,295 {{nowrap|(2<sup>32</sup> − 1)}} octets. The use of jumbograms may improve performance over high-[[Maximum transmission unit|MTU]] links. The use of jumbograms is indicated by the Jumbo Payload Option extension header.{{Ref RFC|2675}}