On today’s episode we’re doing some follow up on listener comments and questions that have come in via the Follow Up on packetpushers.net.  We cover questions regarding IPv6 for small businesses, then go even smaller and answer a question about IPv6 for home networks.  Lastly, we have a quick discussion about Path MTU discovery with... Read more »

Our ongoing IPv6 Basics series continues with an episode on v6 routing essentials. We start with a comparison of various routing protocols: RIP, OSPF, IS-IS, EGP, and BGP. We look at pros and cons of each, and discuss challenges such as dual stack IPv4 and IPv6 network implementation, memory and resource use with IPv6, and... Read more »

In this episode of the IPv6 Buzz, we dive into two RFCs for discovering IPv6 prefixes: 7050 and 8781. Why these two? First, 8781 is being proposed as preferential to 7050. Second, co-host Nick Buraglio is an author on 8781 and has insights to share. We start with some background on RFC 7050, including the... Read more »

IPv6 Buzz welcomes back Veronika McKillop, the founder and President of the UK IPv6 Council, to talk about the council’s formation and achievements in the past ten years. We look at IPv6 adoption in the UK and its challenges, and what the future holds for IPv6. Veronika highlights the need for improved IPv6 education in... Read more »

Want to know how an IPv6-only wireless network was deployed at a conference with 18,000 attendees? Join us as we talk through the technical details with Tom Costello, a senior network engineer at Argonne National Laboratory. Tom volunteers at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage and Analysis (SC for short) to help... Read more »

IPv6 adoption should cross 50% in 2025. In today’s podcast, we discuss the implications and significance of IPv6 adoption reaching this milestone. While this transition might not be visible to average users, it does impact IT professionals. We explore varying adoption rates across industries, and talk about compliance requirements will soon necessitate IPv6. We also... Read more »

In this end of-the-year episode of IPv6 Buzz, we review the significant developments in IPv6 throughout 2024 and share projections for 2025. We discuss the introduction of a new documentation prefix, analyze IPv6 usage statistics, and review No NAT November.  For 2025, we explore the possibilities of updates to RFC 6724 and global adoption of... Read more »

Continuing the IPv6 Basics series, today’s podcast addresses IPv6 address planning.  Special “guest” Tom Coffeen who literally wrote the book, IPv6 Address Planning, helps answer questions and gives advice on how to effectively plan IPv6 addresses. We discuss topics such as the importance of long-term planning and understanding prefix sizes, common design pitfalls, and the... Read more »

When you start fresh with IPv6, you have a lot to gain in terms of routing, reputation and security. Today’s show focuses on the differences between provider-assigned (PA) and provider-independent (PI) address spaces. The team discusses the benefits of PI space and the clean slate it offers for address reputation and security. As always, strategic... Read more »

If you’re going to use DHCPv6, you have options, but there are some things you need to know in order to be able to build out your DHCPv6 configuration properly. Today’s IPv6 Buzz explores similarities and differences between DHCP and DHCPv6, particularly the operational model. And as always, you’ll want to verify and test before... Read more »

IPv6 address provisioning is the topic of this latest installment of the IPv6 Basics series.   The hosts focus on Stateless Address Auto Configuration (SLAAC) and Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol for IPv6 (DHCPv6).  The differences between SLAAC and DHCPv6 are explained, including their use cases, the complexities of address management, and the importance of understanding... Read more »

In this episode we discuss the complexities of deploying IPv6 on a compressed timeline. We cover the need for careful planning, training, and understanding the protocol’s nuances. The conversation looks at the risks of delaying deployment, the benefits of incremental implementation, and the global momentum towards IPv6 adoption. Misconceptions about IPv6 are addressed, stressing that... Read more »

IPv6 Buzz welcomes back Nick Buraglio, a frequent guest, to discuss RFC 9637. We get into the details of RFC 9637, which describes the new documentation prefix space for IPv6. We also explore the process of how RFCs go from idea to standard in the IETF. (Cue the “I’m Just a Bill” song from Schoolhouse... Read more »

Our series on IPv6 basics continues with Router Advertisements (RAs) within the Neighbor Discovery Protocol. We look at how hosts bootstrap onto a network using ICMPv6, discuss the timing of sending out an RA, and then cover the configuration of RAs, including key flags and options. We also talk about the importance of understanding the... Read more »

The move from IPv4 to IPv6 is not straightforward. In a world where use cases for both protocols exist, there needs to be some sort of transition. Dual stack is one option but “IPv6 mostly” is another. On today’s show, guest Ondřej Caletka from RIPE NCC explores transitioning to an IPv6-centric network while retaining IPv4... Read more »

Nathan Sherrard shares insights from his Cisco Live US sessions on today’s show. We discuss the current state of IPv6 adoption, adoption challenges, and the strategic importance of transitioning to IPv6. Nathan rounds out the show with IPv6 topics worth keeping an eye on. Episode Guest: Nathan Sherrard, Sales Engineer, Cisco Nathan Sherrard is a... Read more »

RFC 9099 addresses security considerations for operating IPv6 networks, including issues such as address allocation and architecture, security considerations for DHCPv6 and DNS64, and more. Two of the RFC’s co-authors, Merike Kaeo and Eric Vyncke, join the IPv6 Buzz team to talk about the motivations for and challenges of creating RFC 9099. Episode Guests: Merike... Read more »

What are the operational considerations and differences between DHCP and DHCPv6?  In today’s episode we explore the implications for network management, security, and operational models. We also discuss the challenges of DHCPv6 failover, high availability, complex device tracking and identity management in various environments. Episode Links:  Scott’s Infoblox IPv6 CoE blog post  Introducing DHCPv6 Prefix... Read more »

Imagine a world with no broadcast storms, basically no DAD issues, not even ARP and reverse ARP. That is the world of IPv6 neighbor discovery. In today’s episode, we teach you the simplicity of IPv6 neighbor discovery: just native Layer 3 addresses, ICMPv6, and multicast. If you’ve ever been annoyed at a guy hopping on... Read more »

If you don’t blame “destination unreachable” messages on DNS servers, are you even a real network engineer? All joking aside, Johannes Weber joins the show today to teach us how to use ICMPv6 to troubleshoot network issues, pinpointing if the problem is within your network or outside of it. He walks us through identifying possible... Read more »