Topology of a 6to4 Tunnel

A 6to4 tunnel provides IPv6 connectivity to all 6to4 sites everywhere. Likewise, the tunnel also functions a link to all IPv6 sites, including the native IPv6 internet, provided that the tunnel is configured to forward to a relay router. The following figure shows how a 6to4 tunnel provides this connectivity between 6to4 sites.

Figure 11–6 Tunnel Between Two 6to4 Sites

The figure depicts two isolated 6to4 networks, Site A and Site B. Each site has configured a router with an external connection to an IPv4 network. A 6to4 tunnel across the IPv4 network provides a connection to link 6to4 sites.

Before an IPv6 site can become a 6to4 site, you must configure at least one router interface for 6to4 support. This interface must provide the external connection to the IPv4 network. The address that you configure on qfe0 must be globally unique. In this figure, boundary Router A's interface qfe0 connects Site A to the IPv4 network. Interface qfe0 must already be configured with an IPv4 address before you can configure qfe0 as a 6to4 pseudo-interface.

In the figure, 6to4 Site A is composed of two subnets, which are connected to interfaces hme0 and hme1 on Router A. All IPv6 hosts on either subnet of Site A automatically reconfigure with 6to4-derived addresses upon receipt of the advertisement from Router A.

Site B is another isolated 6to4 site. To correctly receive traffic from Site A, a boundary router on Site B must be configured for 6to4 support. Otherwise, packets that the router receives from Site A are not recognized and are then dropped.