IPv6 Tutorial – Windows and Linux Dedicated Servers
There’s no getting around it: IPv6 is the way of the future. There are no more unique IPv4 addresses remaining and in fact, there are many benefits to upgrading to IPv6. If you’re using ReliableSite, you are likely have both IPv4 and IPv6 blocks registered to your server.
In this IPv6 tutorial, we’ll go through the steps to set up your dedicated server, whether Windows or Linux based, to use those new IPv6 addresses.
How to setup IPv6 on Windows Server
1) Logon to the Windows server with administrator rights
2) Click on Start > Network > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Setting
3) Right-click on the Local Area Connection of the network adapter and choose Properties
4) Highlight Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6) and click on Properties
5) Click on “Use the following IPv6 address” and in the IPv6 Address field, type in the IP address you have been assigned by our team
6) Press the Tab key and it’ll automatically populate the Subnet prefix length to 64
7) Press the Tab key and in the Default Gateway field, type in the IP of the Gateway
8) For Preferred DNS Server, type in the IP address of your DNS server
9) Click OK to close and save
How to setup IPv6 on Debian
If you already have native connectivity, Debian should pick it up automatically from router advertisements, and generate addresses for you. You can also use the static method in /etc/network/interfaces to set up addresses manually.
If your router doesn’t have advertisements, you may want to try to bring IPv6 manually with the following command:
ip -6 addr add 2002:c000:203::1/64 dev eth0
To verify that IPv6 is working, try pinging:
ping6 -n ipv6.google.com
For a complete guide on Debian IPv6 setup, check out the Debian Wiki.
How to setup IPv6 on CentOS
IPv6 setup on CentOS simply involves the editing of a few files.
1) Open /etc/sysconfig/network file, enter:
vi /etc/sysconfig/network
Append following line:
NETWORKING_IPV6=yes
2) Open the network interface file
vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
Append following config directives for IPv6:
IPV6INIT=yes
IPV6ADDR=<IPv6-IP-Address>
IPV6_DEFAULTGW=<IPv6-IP-Gateway-Address>
3) Save and close the file. Restart networking:
service network restart
Verify your configuration by pinging ipv6 enabled site such as ipv6.google.com:
ping6 ipv6.google.com
Get IPv6 Now!
There’s no reason to drag it out. IPv6 is happening so switch when you have time to avoid a headache later.