Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Default Address Selection

This feature is new in the Software Express pilot program. This feature is included in the Solaris 10 3/05 release.

The Solaris 10 Operating System provides a documented and deterministic algorithm for doing IPv6 default source and destination address selection. This feature gives system administrators the limited ability to change address selection precedence through use of a policy table.

The IPv6 default address selection feature is a standardized method for IPv6 source and destination address selection.

The selection mechanisms can be configured by using a policy table. For example, you can edit the policy table to give higher precedence to a particular address prefix. Thereafter, addresses that are within the prefix are sorted before other addresses by name look-up APIs. You can also assign labels to source and destination prefixes in the policy table. This assignment makes sure that particular source addresses are only used with particular destination addresses.

To implement IPv6 default address selection, the Solaris Operating System now includes the /etc/inet/ipaddrsel.conf file and the /usr/sbin/ipaddrsel command. You use ipaddrsel.conf to edit the IPv6 default address policy table. Then you use ipaddrsel to commit the changes to the policy table.

Additionally, the ifconfig command now includes the “preferred” option. This option lets you designate a particular address to be used as the source address for all IPv6 communication.

For detailed information, refer to the ipaddrsel.conf(4), ipaddrsel(1M), and the ifconfig(1M) man pages.

For further information, see the System Administration Guide: IP Services.