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IPv6 Addressing
Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) is supported on the MXL switch platform.
NOTE: The IPv6 basic commands are supported on all platforms. However, not all features are
supported on all platforms, nor for all releases. To determine the Dell Networking OS version
supporting which features and platforms, refer to Implementing IPv6 with the Dell Networking OS.
IPv6 is the successor to IPv4. Due to the rapid growth in internet users and IP addresses, IPv4 is reaching
its maximum usage. IPv6 will eventually replace IPv4 usage to allow for the constant expansion.
This chapter provides a brief description of the differences between IPv4 and IPv6, and the Dell
Networking support of IPv6. This chapter is not intended to be a comprehensive description of IPv6.
NOTE: Even though Dell Networking OS listens to all ports, you can only use the ports starting from
1024 for IPv6 traffic. Ports from 0 to 1023 are reserved for internal use and you cannot use them for
IPv6 traffic.
Protocol Overview
IPv6 is an evolution of IPv4. IPv6 is generally installed as an upgrade in devices and operating systems.
Most new devices and operating systems support both IPv4 and IPv6.
Some key changes in IPv6 are:
• Extended address space
• Stateless autoconfiguration
• Header format simplification
• Improved support for options and extensions
Extended Address Space
The address format is extended from 32 bits to 128 bits. This not only provides room for all anticipated
needs, it allows for the use of a hierarchical address space structure to optimize global addressing.
Stateless Autoconfiguration
When a booting device comes up in IPv6 and asks for its network prefix, the device can get the prefix (or
prefixes) from an IPv6 router on its link. It can then autoconfigure one or more global IPv6 addresses by
using either the MAC address or a private random number to build its unique IPv6 address.
Stateless autoconfiguration uses three mechanisms for IPv6 address configuration:
• Prefix Advertisement — Routers use “Router Advertisement” messages to announce the network
prefix. Hosts then use their interface-identifier MAC address to generate their own valid IPv6 address.
IPv6 Addressing
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