Link-local address

[2]: 2.4 [3] Link-local addresses may be assigned manually by an administrator or by automatic operating system procedures.

[1] The entire range may be used for this purpose, except for the first 256 and last 256 addresses (169.254.0.0/24 and 169.254.255.0/24), which are reserved for future use and must not be selected by a host using this dynamic configuration mechanism.

[1]: 1.9  Therefore, hosts search for a DHCP server on the network before assigning link-local addresses.

Stateless address autoconfiguration is performed as a component of the Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP).

[6] The address is formed from its routing prefix and a unique identifier for the network interface.

Through NDP routing prefix advertisements, a router or server host may announce configuration information to all link-attached interfaces which causes additional IP address assignment on the receiving interfaces for local or global routing purposes.

This process is sometimes also considered stateless, as the prefix server does not receive or log any individual assignments to hosts.