KB.15.15

1 IPv6 Addressing Configuration

NOTE: All commands previously in the Summary of commands table are indexed under the entry

Command syntax.

More information, see “Viewing the current IPv6 addressing configuration” (page 21), (page 23).

Introduction

In the default configuration, IPv6 operation is disabled on the switch. This section describes the

general steps and individual commands for enabling IPv6 operation.

This chapter provides the following:

• general steps for IPv6 configuration

• IPv6 command syntax descriptions, including show commands

Most IPv6 configuration commands are applied per-VLAN. The exceptions are ICMP, ND, and the

(optional) authorized-managers feature, which are configured at the global configuration level.

(ICMP and ND for IPv6 are enabled with default values when IPv6 is first enabled and can either

be left in their default settings or reconfigured, as needed.)

NOTE: Beginning with software release K.13.01, the switch is capable of operating in dual-stack

mode, where IPv4 and IPv6 run concurrently on a given VLAN.

General configuration steps

The IPv6 configuration on switches running software release K.13.01 or greater includes global

and per-VLAN settings. This section provides an overview of the general configuration steps for

enabling IPv6 on a given VLAN and can be enabled by any one of several commands. The

following steps provide a suggested progression for getting started.

NOTE: The ICMP and ND parameters are set to default values at the global configuration level,

are satisfactory for many applications, and generally do not need adjustment when you are first

configuring IPv6 on the switch.

In the default configuration, IPv6 is disabled on all VLANs or tunnels.

1. If IPv6 DHCP service is available, enable IPv6 DHCP on the VLAN. If IPv6 is not already

enabled on the VLAN, enabling DHCPv6 also enables IPv6 and automatically configures a

link-local address using the EUI-64 format.

NOTE: If IPv6 is not already enabled on the VLAN, enabling DHCPv6 causes the switch to

automatically generate a link-local address. DHCPv6 does not assign a link-local address.

A DHCPv6 server can provide other services, such as the addresses of time servers. For this

reason, you may want to enable DHCP even if you are using another method to configure

IPv6 addressing on the VLAN.

2. If IPv6 DHCP service is not enabled on the VLAN, do either of the following:

• Enable IPv6 on the VLAN.

This automatically configures a link-local address with an EUI-64 interface identifier.

• Statically configure a unicast IPv6 address on the VLAN.

This enables IPv6 on the VLAN and, if you configure anything other than a link-local

address, the link-local address is automatically configured with an EUI-64 interface

identifier.

Introduction 11