Softpanorama

May the source be with you, but remember the KISS principle ;-)
Home Switchboard Unix Administration Red Hat TCP/IP Networks Neoliberalism Toxic Managers
(slightly skeptical) Educational society promoting "Back to basics" movement against IT overcomplexity and  bastardization of classic Unix

Enabling IPv6 Routing in Solaris

You can enable IPv6 from the command line or by creating a specific file that is found by the /etc/rc2.d/S69inet startup scripts at boot time.

The in.ndpd Process on the Non-Router

The in.ndpd process implements the Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP). Systems on the same network link use NDP for IPv6 to:

IPv6 on Non-Routers Configuration

You can configure a system to support both IPv4 and IPv6. This configured system is known as a dual-stack system.

IPv6 introduces new files, including:

Configuring an Interface for IPv6

To configure IPv6 on a system, create a /etc/hostname6.interface file, and reboot the system or use the ifconfig utility to manually configure the interface. For example, to configure IPv6 on the  system’s hme0 interface, complete the following steps:

1. View the configuration of the system’s interfaces before making any changes.

# ifconfig -a
lo0: flags=1000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 8232 index 1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask ff000000

hme0: flags=1000843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 1500 index 2
inet 192.168.1.2 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
ether 8:0:20:90:b5:c7

2. Create the /etc/hostname6.interfacefile to cause the interface to configure with IPv6, and then reboot the system.

# touch /etc/hostname6.hme0
# init 6
#
INIT: New run level: 6


3. Watch the start messages for IPv6 messages, which are similar to the
following:

...
...
configuring IPv6 interfaces: hme0.
...
...
Starting IPv6 neighbor discovery.
...
...

4. View the system’s interface configuration after the boot.

# ifconfig -a
lo0: flags=1000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 8232 index 1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask ff000000


hme0: flags=1000843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 1500 index 2
inet 192.168.1.2 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
ether 8:0:20:90:b5:c7


lo0: flags=2000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 8252 index 1
inet6 ::1/128


hme0: flags=2000841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
ether 8:0:20:90:b5:c7
inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:fe90:b5c7/10

Notice how both the lo0 and hme0 interfaces have inet6 components and that each interface has an inet6 address. Recall from a previous step that an IPv6 address was not defined.

Configuring IPv6 Name Service Lookup

Like IPv4, you can apply names to IPv6 addresses so that you can more easily refer to a system. For example, to name this system’s IPv6 hme0 interface -v6, you can add an entry to the /etc/inet/ipnodes file to make it look similar to the following:

# tail -2 /etc/inet/ipnodes
# added for ipnode example
fec0::a00:20ff:fe90:b5c7 -v6

 

You can now address the system by its IPv6 interface by using the -v6 host name, for example:

# ping -v6
-v6 is alive

Name service lookup configuration for IPv6 is similar to name service lookup configuration for IPv4.

The following are additional files:


Non-Router Configuration Troubleshooting

You can use the netstat utility with the address-family (-f) inet6 option to display only IPv6-specific information when you troubleshoot. The netstat utility has multiple forms and produces different types and levels of output depending on the options that are used with the utility. To view the IPv6 route table, perform the command:

# netstat -f inet6 -r

Routing Table: IPv6
Destination/Mask Gateway Flags Ref Use If


fe80::/10 -v6 U 1 0 hme0
ff00::/8 -v6 U 1 0 hme0
default -v6 U 1 0 hme0
localhost localhost UH 1 0 lo0

 

To view multicast group information for IPv6 interfaces, perform the command:

# netstat -f inet6 -g
Group Memberships: IPv6
If Group RefCnt


lo0 ff02::1:ff00:1 1
lo0 ff02::1 1
hme0 ff02::202 1
hme0 ff02::1:ff90:b5c7 1
hme0 ff02::1 2

 

You can use the ifconfig utility to obtain IPv6-specific information by using the inet6 address family parameter. For example, to view the configuration of all IPv6 interfaces, perform the command:

# ifconfig -a inet6


lo0: flags=2000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 8252 index 1
inet6 ::1/128


hme0: flags=2000841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:fe90:b5c7/10


The in.ndpd Process on the Router

The IPv6 NDP is implemented by the in.ndpd process. The in.ndpd process implements IPv6 functions, including:

  1. Router discovery
  2. Prefix discovery
  3. Address autoconfiguration
  4. Address resolution
  5. Neighbor unreachability detection


IPv6 Routing Information Protocol

Routing in IPv6 is almost identical to IPv4 routing in CIDR, except that the IPv6 addresses are 128 bits instead of 32 bits. The in.ripngd process is the IPv6 routing daemon for the Solaris.

In normal operation, the in.ripngd process listens on the UDP port 521 for route information datagrams. If the host is a router, it periodically supplies copies of its route table to any directly connected host and
network.

IPv6 Router Configuration

You can use the command line to configure an IPv4 router to support IPv6. You can activate IPv6 by starting specific processes or by rebooting the system.

Configuring Interfaces for IPv6

To designate which interfaces are configured with IPv6 at boot time, use the touch utility to create a /etc/hostname6.interface file for each interface. For example, to configure the system to configure the hme0and
qfe0 interfaces with IPv6 at boot time, enter the following:

# touch /etc/hostname6.hme0 /etc/hostname6.qfe0
 

Alternatively, configure the hme0 and qfe0 interfaces from the command line as follows:

1. View the interfaces configuration.


# ifconfig -a


lo0: flags=1000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 8232 index 1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask ff000000


hme0: flags=1000843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 1500 index 2
inet 192.168.30.31 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 192.168.30.255
ether 8:0:20:b9:72:23


qfe0: flags=1000843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 1500 index 3
inet 192.168.1.1 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
ether 8:0:20:ac:9b:20


2. Use the ifconfig utility to configure the hme0 interface.

# ifconfig hme0 inet6 plumb up

3. Use the ifconfig utility to configure the qfe0 interface.


# ifconfig qfe0 inet6 plumb up
 

4. View the interfaces configuration.
# ifconfig -a


lo0: flags=1000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 8232 index 1
inet 127.0.0.1 netmask ff000000


hme0: flags=1000843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 1500 index 2
inet 192.168.30.31 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 192.168.30.255
ether 8:0:20:b9:72:23


qfe0: flags=1000843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv4> mtu 1500 index 3
inet 192.168.1.1 netmask ffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
ether 8:0:20:ac:9b:20


hme0: flags=2000841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
ether 8:0:20:b9:72:23
inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feb9:7223/10

qfe0: flags=2000841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
ether 8:0:20:ac:9b:20
inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feac:9b20/10

Configuring IPv6 Name Service Lookup

The IPv6 name service lookup mechanism is controlled in the same way as IPv4. Verify that the ipnodes database is defined correctly for your site’s name service lookup mechanism. For example, make sure that the following entry exists if the ipnodes database uses the system’s local file:

# grep ipnodes /etc/nsswitch.conf
ipnodes: files
 


Configuring the ndpd.conf File

Configure the ndpd.conf file to contain route configuration information on the routers. You do not have to advertise link-local addresses on a router because a link-local address cannot be routed. Recall that:

The following example demonstrates how to configure this router information


Complete the following steps:

1. Define the /etc/inet/ndpd.conf file to have the following contents:

# cat /etc/inet/ndpd.conf

# Send router advertisements out all interfaces
ifdefault AdvSendAdvertisements on
#
# Advertise an unregistered (bogus) global prefix and a site
# local prefix using the default lifetimes
prefix fec0:0:0:9255::0/64 hme0
prefix 2000:0:0:9255::0/64 hme0
#
prefix fec0:0:0:9256::0/64 qfe0
prefix 2000:0:0:9256::0/64 qfe0
#


2. Reboot the system. Proceed to the Step 3 to configure the system from the command line.

# init 6
#
INIT: New run level: 6
...
...
Machine is an IPv4 router.
Machine is an IPv6 router.
Setting default IPv6 interface for multicast: add net ff00::/8: gateway
fe80::a00:20ff:feb9:7223


...
...

  1. View the IPv6 configuration of the interfaces.

  2. # ifconfig -a inet6
    lo0: flags=2000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 8252 index 1
    inet6 ::1/128
    hme0: flags=2100841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
    inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feb9:7223/10
    hme0:1: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
    inet6 2000::9255:a00:20ff:feb9:7223/64
    hme0:2: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
    inet6 fec0::9255:a00:20ff:feb9:7223/64
    qfe0: flags=2100841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
    inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feac:9b20/10
    qfe0:1: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
    inet6 2000::9256:a00:20ff:feac:9b20/64
    qfe0:2: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
    inet6 fec0::9256:a00:20ff:feac:9b20/64
    #

  3. Observe how the site-local and aggregatable-global unicast addresses are assigned to unique logical interfaces.

3. To configure your system without rebooting it, complete the following steps:

  1. Switch IPv6 IP forwarding on.
    # /usr/sbin/ndd -set /dev/ip ip6_forwarding 1
  2. If required, configure the system to send routing redirects.
    # /usr/sbin/ndd -set /dev/ip ip6_send_redirects 1
     
  3.  If required, configure the system to ignore routing redirects for
    IPv6.
    # /usr/sbin/ndd -set /dev/ip ip6_ignore_redirect 1
     
  4. Start the in.ndpdprocess that reads the ndpd.conffile. Restart
    it if it is already running.
    # /usr/lib/inet/in.ndpd
     
  5. Start the in.ripngd process, and force it to supply route
    information to the network.
    # /usr/lib/inet/in.ripngd -s
     
  6. View the interface configuration:

    # ifconfig -a inet6
    lo0: flags=2000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 8252 index 1
    inet6 ::1/128
    hme0: flags=2100841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
    inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feb9:7223/10
    hme0:1: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
    inet6 2000::9255:a00:20ff:feb9:7223/64
    hme0:2: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
    inet6 fec0::9255:a00:20ff:feb9:7223/64
    qfe0: flags=2100841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
    inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feac:9b20/10
    qfe0:1: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
    inet6 2000::9256:a00:20ff:feac:9b20/64
    qfe0:2: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
    inet6 fec0::9256:a00:20ff:feac:9b20/64
    #


Router Configuration Troubleshooting

You can perform basic troubleshooting of an IPv6 router by confirming that processes are running, examining the route table, and using the ping utility as shown in the following examples:

Send an ICMP echo request to a remote system to determine if you receive an ICMP echo response from the remote system. Do not attempt to communicate with the link-local address of a system across a router because routers do not forward link-local addresses.


# ping fec0::9255:a00:20ff:fec0:449d
fec0::9255:a00:20ff:fec0:449d is alive

# ping 2000::9255:a00:20ff:fec0:449d
2000::9255:a00:20ff:fec0:449d is alive


Managing IPv6

The tasks you use to manage IPv6 interfaces are similar to the tasks you use to manage IPv4 interfaces.

Displaying the State of IPv6 Interfaces

Use the ifconfig utility with the inet6 option to display the state of the IPv6 interfaces, for example:

# ifconfig -a inet6


lo0: flags=2000849<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,IPv6> mtu 8252 index 1
inet6 ::1/128


hme0: flags=2100841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feb9:7223/10


hme0:1: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
inet6 2000::9255:a00:20ff:feb9:7223/64


hme0:2: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 2
inet6 fec0::9255:a00:20ff:feb9:7223/64


qfe0: flags=2100841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
inet6 fe80::a00:20ff:feac:9b20/10


qfe0:1: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
inet6 2000::9256:a00:20ff:feac:9b20/64


qfe0:2: flags=2180841<UP,RUNNING,MULTICAST,ADDRCONF,ROUTER,IPv6> mtu 1500 index 3
inet6 fec0::9256:a00:20ff:feac:9b20/64



Modifying an IPv6 Interface Configuration

Use the ifconfig utility to modify IPv6 interface configuration in a similar manner to IPv4 interfaces. The family type of IPv6 must be defined in the command after the interface option, for example:

ifconfig hme0 inet6 configuration options

Caution – Be sure to specify the inet6 family, or the command changes the configuration of an IPv4 interface.

Configuring Logical Interfaces

You can configure logical IPv6 interfaces by using the ifconfig utility with the inet6 parameter like you do in IPv4, for example:

ifconfig qfe0:3 inet6 plumb configuration options

To remove the logical interface, disable the interface, and then use the unplumb parameter, for example:

# ifconfig qfe0:3 inet6 down unplumb
 

Troubleshooting IPv6 Interfaces

You troubleshoot IPv6 interfaces like you troubleshoot IPv4 interfaces. Recall that different FPs are required on addresses destined beyond the local subnet. Therefore, do not spend time attempting to determine why you cannot access a system on another subnet with an IPv6 address that starts with fe8.

Displaying the IPv6 Route Table

You use the netstat utility with the address-family -finet6 option to display the IPv6 route table, for example:

# netstat -f inet6 -r
 

Routing Table: IPv6
Destination/Mask Gateway Flags Ref Use If

fe80::/10 -v6 U 1 0 hme0
ff00::/8 -v6 U 1 0 hme0
default -v6 U 1 0 hme0
localhost localhost UH 1 0 lo0



Etc

Society

Groupthink : Two Party System as Polyarchy : Corruption of Regulators : Bureaucracies : Understanding Micromanagers and Control Freaks : Toxic Managers :   Harvard Mafia : Diplomatic Communication : Surviving a Bad Performance Review : Insufficient Retirement Funds as Immanent Problem of Neoliberal Regime : PseudoScience : Who Rules America : Neoliberalism  : The Iron Law of Oligarchy : Libertarian Philosophy

Quotes

War and Peace : Skeptical Finance : John Kenneth Galbraith :Talleyrand : Oscar Wilde : Otto Von Bismarck : Keynes : George Carlin : Skeptics : Propaganda  : SE quotes : Language Design and Programming Quotes : Random IT-related quotesSomerset Maugham : Marcus Aurelius : Kurt Vonnegut : Eric Hoffer : Winston Churchill : Napoleon Bonaparte : Ambrose BierceBernard Shaw : Mark Twain Quotes

Bulletin:

Vol 25, No.12 (December, 2013) Rational Fools vs. Efficient Crooks The efficient markets hypothesis : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2013 : Unemployment Bulletin, 2010 :  Vol 23, No.10 (October, 2011) An observation about corporate security departments : Slightly Skeptical Euromaydan Chronicles, June 2014 : Greenspan legacy bulletin, 2008 : Vol 25, No.10 (October, 2013) Cryptolocker Trojan (Win32/Crilock.A) : Vol 25, No.08 (August, 2013) Cloud providers as intelligence collection hubs : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : Inequality Bulletin, 2009 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Copyleft Problems Bulletin, 2004 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Energy Bulletin, 2010 : Malware Protection Bulletin, 2010 : Vol 26, No.1 (January, 2013) Object-Oriented Cult : Political Skeptic Bulletin, 2011 : Vol 23, No.11 (November, 2011) Softpanorama classification of sysadmin horror stories : Vol 25, No.05 (May, 2013) Corporate bullshit as a communication method  : Vol 25, No.06 (June, 2013) A Note on the Relationship of Brooks Law and Conway Law

History:

Fifty glorious years (1950-2000): the triumph of the US computer engineering : Donald Knuth : TAoCP and its Influence of Computer Science : Richard Stallman : Linus Torvalds  : Larry Wall  : John K. Ousterhout : CTSS : Multix OS Unix History : Unix shell history : VI editor : History of pipes concept : Solaris : MS DOSProgramming Languages History : PL/1 : Simula 67 : C : History of GCC developmentScripting Languages : Perl history   : OS History : Mail : DNS : SSH : CPU Instruction Sets : SPARC systems 1987-2006 : Norton Commander : Norton Utilities : Norton Ghost : Frontpage history : Malware Defense History : GNU Screen : OSS early history

Classic books:

The Peter Principle : Parkinson Law : 1984 : The Mythical Man-MonthHow to Solve It by George Polya : The Art of Computer Programming : The Elements of Programming Style : The Unix Hater’s Handbook : The Jargon file : The True Believer : Programming Pearls : The Good Soldier Svejk : The Power Elite

Most popular humor pages:

Manifest of the Softpanorama IT Slacker Society : Ten Commandments of the IT Slackers Society : Computer Humor Collection : BSD Logo Story : The Cuckoo's Egg : IT Slang : C++ Humor : ARE YOU A BBS ADDICT? : The Perl Purity Test : Object oriented programmers of all nations : Financial Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2008 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2010 : The Most Comprehensive Collection of Editor-related Humor : Programming Language Humor : Goldman Sachs related humor : Greenspan humor : C Humor : Scripting Humor : Real Programmers Humor : Web Humor : GPL-related Humor : OFM Humor : Politically Incorrect Humor : IDS Humor : "Linux Sucks" Humor : Russian Musical Humor : Best Russian Programmer Humor : Microsoft plans to buy Catholic Church : Richard Stallman Related Humor : Admin Humor : Perl-related Humor : Linus Torvalds Related humor : PseudoScience Related Humor : Networking Humor : Shell Humor : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2011 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2012 : Financial Humor Bulletin, 2013 : Java Humor : Software Engineering Humor : Sun Solaris Related Humor : Education Humor : IBM Humor : Assembler-related Humor : VIM Humor : Computer Viruses Humor : Bright tomorrow is rescheduled to a day after tomorrow : Classic Computer Humor

The Last but not Least Technology is dominated by two types of people: those who understand what they do not manage and those who manage what they do not understand ~Archibald Putt. Ph.D


Copyright © 1996-2021 by Softpanorama Society. www.softpanorama.org was initially created as a service to the (now defunct) UN Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP) without any remuneration. This document is an industrial compilation designed and created exclusively for educational use and is distributed under the Softpanorama Content License. Original materials copyright belong to respective owners. Quotes are made for educational purposes only in compliance with the fair use doctrine.

FAIR USE NOTICE This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to advance understanding of computer science, IT technology, economic, scientific, and social issues. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided by section 107 of the US Copyright Law according to which such material can be distributed without profit exclusively for research and educational purposes.

This is a Spartan WHYFF (We Help You For Free) site written by people for whom English is not a native language. Grammar and spelling errors should be expected. The site contain some broken links as it develops like a living tree...

You can use PayPal to to buy a cup of coffee for authors of this site

Disclaimer:

The statements, views and opinions presented on this web page are those of the author (or referenced source) and are not endorsed by, nor do they necessarily reflect, the opinions of the Softpanorama society. We do not warrant the correctness of the information provided or its fitness for any purpose. The site uses AdSense so you need to be aware of Google privacy policy. You you do not want to be tracked by Google please disable Javascript for this site. This site is perfectly usable without Javascript.

Last modified: March 12, 2019