November 27, 2013 archive

If you can’t get a native IPv6 connection for your network from your local Internet Service Provider (ISP), what kind of “tunneling” mechanism can you use to get IPv6 connectivity for your network?  Today a new Informational (non-standard) RFC 7059, A Comparison of IPv6-over-IPv4 Tunnel Mechanisms, was published that explores exactly these issues. It walks through a wide range of available IPv6 tunneling mechanisms and explains the merits (or not) of the various mechanisms, while also providing plenty of links for people to learn more.  The list of  tunneling mechanisms includes:

• Configured Tunnels (Manual Tunnels / 6in4)
• Automatic Tunneling
• IPv6 over IPv4 without Explicit Tunnels (6over4)
• Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)
• Connection of IPv6 Domains via IPv4 Clouds (6to4)
• Anything In Anything (AYIYA)
• Intra-Site Automatic Tunnel Addressing (ISATAP)
• Tunneling IPv6 over UDP through NATs (Teredo)
• IPv6 Rapid Deployment (6rd)
• Native IPv6 behind NAT44 CPEs (6a44)
• Locator/ID Separation Protocol (LISP)
• Subnetwork Encapsulation and Adaptation Layer (SEAL)
• Peer-to-Peer IPv6 on Any Internetwork (6bed4)

If you are frustrated with being unable to obtain native IPv6 connectivity for your network, this RFC may provide a good place to start to learn more about how you can use one of these transition mechanisms to connect your network to the rest of the IPv6-enabled Internet!