How to Configure a System For IPv6

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The following procedure explains how to enable IPv6 for an interface that was added after an Oracle Solaris installation. You begin the IPv6 configuration process by enabling IPv6 on the interfaces of all of the systems that will become IPv6 nodes. Typical IPv6 deployments use autoconfiguration to configure IP interfaces. An autoconf IP address assigns a link-local address and discovers prefixes and routers that are in use on the subnet. You then can tailor the node's configuration based on its function in the IPv6 network, either as a host, server, or a router. Interfaces that are set up for autoconf will also automatically request DHCPv6 address information. To enable only static IPv6 addresses, without autoconfiguration or DHCPv6, use the ipadm command with the appropriate options to create a link-local address on the interface without adding any other dynamically assigned addresses. See Migrating From an IPv4 Network to an IPv6 Network for an example.

Note - If the interface is on the same link as a router that currently advertises an IPv6 prefix, the interface obtains that site prefix as part of its autoconfigured addresses. For more information, refer to How to Configure an IPv6-Enabled Router in Configuring an Oracle Solaris 11.3 System as a Router or a Load Balancer.

(Optional) Configure the IP interface by using the ipadm create-ip command with the appropriate options.
```
# ipadm create-ip interface
```
For example, you would configure an IP interface for net0 as follows:
```
# ipadm create-ip net0
```
If the interface has already been configured for use with IPv4, this step is not required. Refer to How to Configure an IPv4 Interface in Configuring and Managing Network Components in Oracle Solaris 11.3 for general instructions on configuring an IP interface.
Assign the IP address or addresses.
Note - When you assign the IP address, make sure to use the correct option for assigning an IPv6 address:
```
# ipadm create-addr -T addrconf interface
```
To add more addresses, use the following syntax:
```
# ipadm create-addr -a ipv6-address interface
```
(Optional) Create a static IPv6 default route.
```
# /usr/sbin/route -p add -inet6 default ipv6-address
```
Note - As part of autoconfiguration, in.ndpd adds default routes as they are discovered, which might result in multiple default routes being made available, including any manually configured default routes. The system automatically makes a default route selection based on all of the available routes, which means that a manually configured default route might not be used every time.
(Optional) Create an /etc/inet/ndpd.conf file that defines the parameters for the interface variables that are on the node.
If you need to create temporary addresses for the host's interface, refer to Using Temporary Addresses for an IPv6 Interface. For details about /etc/inet/ndpd.conf, refer to the ndpd.conf(4) man page.
(Optional) Display the status of the IP interfaces with their IPv6 configurations as follows:
```
# ipadm show-addr
```

Example 6 Enabling an IPv6 Interface After Installation

The following example shows how to enable IPv6 on the net0 interface. Before you begin, check the status of all of the interfaces that are configured on the system.

# ipadm show-addr
ADDROBJ   TYPE     STATE   ADDR
lo0/v4    static   ok      127.0.0.1/8
net0/v4   static   ok      203.0.113.74/24

As shown in the previous output, only the net0 interface is currently configured for this system. If the net0 interface has not been configured yet, use the ipadm create-ip net0 command to bring the interface up.

IPv6 is then enabled on this interface as follows:

# ipadm create-addr -T addrconf net0
# ipadm create-addr -a 2001:db8:3c4d:15::203/64 net0

# ipadm show-addr
ADDROBJ      TYPE       STATE   ADDR
lo0/v4       static     ok      127.0.0.1/8
net0/v4      static     ok      203.0.113.74/24
net0/v6      addrconf   ok      2001:db8:203:baff:fe13:14e1/32
lo0/v6       static     ok      ::1/128
net0/v6a     static     ok      2001:db8:3c4d:15::203/32

# route -p add -inet6 default 2001:db8:203:baff:fe13:14e1

Next Steps

For information about how to configure the IPv6 node as a router, see Configuring an IPv6 Router in Configuring an Oracle Solaris 11.3 System as a Router or a Load Balancer.
For information about how to tailor the IPv6 node as a server, see Configuring IPv6-Enabled Interfaces on Servers.