IPv6 and Solaris Naming Services

NIS, NIS+ and LDAP support storing IPv6 data, as well as using IPv6 transports for protocol traffic. Beginning with BIND version 8.3.3, DNS on the Solaris OS supports the use of IPv6 transports on the client side. As of BIND version 8.4.2, DNS provides a complete client-server solution over IPv6 networks on Solaris.

The nsswitch.conf file controls search criteria for IPv6 addresses. IPv6 increases the IP address size from 32 bits to 128 bits to support more levels of addressing hierarchy. A larger address size provides a greater number of addressable nodes. For more information about IPv6, its configuration and implementation, see System Administration Guide: IP Services.

Use the new ipnodes source for IPv6 addresses. The /etc/inet/ipnodes file stores both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. The /etc/inet/ipnodes file uses the same format convention as the /etc/hosts file.

IPv6 aware naming services use the new ipnodes source for its search forwarding. For instance, if LDAP is aware of IPv6 addresses, specify the following.

ipnodes: ldap [NOTFOUND=return] files

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Caution - Potential delay issues: ipnodes defaults to files. During the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, where all naming services are not aware of IPv6 addresses, accept the files default. Otherwise, unnecessary delays, such as boot timing delays, might result during the resolution of addresses. An application searches all ipnodes databases for IPv4 addresses before searching for IPv4 addresses in the hosts databases. Before specifying ipnodes, consider the inherent delay of searching both databases for IPv4 addresses.

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