Configuring IPv6

IPv6 is the next generation of the Internet Protocol. With 128-bit addresses, versus 32-bit addresses for IPv4, IPv6 solves the address depletion issues seen with IPv4 and removes the requirement for Network Address Translation (NAT), which is used in IPv4 networks to reduce the number of globally unique IP addresses required for a given network. Its aggregate addresses can dramatically reduce the size of the global routing table through well known address combinations. Security is more integrated and network configuration is simplified yet more flexible.

IPv6 can coexist with IPv4. As with IPv4, IPv6 routing can be enabled on physical and VLAN interfaces. Each Layer 3 routing interface can be used for IPv4, IPv6, or both. IP protocols running over Layer 3 (for example, UDP and TCP) do not change with IPv6. For this reason, a single CPU stack is used for transport of both IPv4 and IPv6, and a single sockets interface provides access to both. Routing protocols are capable of computing routes for one or both IP versions.

Note

CLI commands are not available for all the IPv6 pages.