What Is Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP)?

The Neighbor Discovery Protocol (Short for NDP) is the little-known sibling of the Internet Protocol suite that helped to save the world. The Internet Protocol suite was initially developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to help address the finite number of addresses assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority under IPv4. It wasn't until IPv6 came along that NDP stepped into its own, using Neighbor Discovery Protocol to ensure everyone could get enough IP addresses to last a lifetime. NDP has been around since 1998, but its role in providing IPv6 addresses has been widely overlooked until recently—when it was finally recognized as one of the critical technologies behind our ability to access all those excellent cat photos on Imgur! IPv6 is a whole new world. It's like when you walk into a room for the first time, and it's so big that you can't even see the walls. Then, when you finally get your bearings, you realize there are people in there with you but don't worry—they're friendly! They're just like you: They want to ensure everyone has enough breathing space. That's what NDP does: It lets everyone know where they are and how much space they have to work with. It also lets them know who else is around to get to know each other better. It's nothing to be afraid of—and it's not even something you must do yourself if you don't want to! NDP is the new way to route data through your network. With NDP, you can send your data along different pathways and have it reach its destination faster than ever before. NDP is also known as the Neighbor Discovery Protocol, and it's a great way to stay connected with your neighbors in ways that make everyone happier.