Dell Networking SONiC: How to Configure IPv6 Address

Summary: This article explains how to configure IPv6 address in Dell Networking SONiC. This article uses a switch running Dell SONiC 4.1.

This article applies to This article does not apply to This article is not tied to any specific product. Not all product versions are identified in this article.

Instructions

Prerequisites
We are using standard interface naming to demonstrate the Concepts. See Dell article 202172 Dell Networking S-Series: Basic Interface Configuration - SONiC 4.0 for more information regarding interface naming
 

Index

Configuration Syntax and Show commands
Link Local Address
IPv6 Address Space
Sample Configuration
Assign an IP address to an Interface.
Assign an IP address to a VLAN.
Assign an IP address to a PortChannel.
Assign an IP address to a Loopback interface.
 

NOTE: When the IPv6 address is configured, the link local address is also activated by default. Link local address start with FE80::. You can view link local address using command show ipv6 interface.

Configuration Syntax and Show commands

Configuration Syntax
Command Explanation
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
Enter Dell Management Command Line Interface
DELLSONiC# configure terminal
Enter Configuration Mode
DELLSONiC(config)# interface <Eth slot/port><Vlan ID><PortChannel ID><Eth slot/port.subport><Loopback ID>
Configure Interface, VLAN, PortChannel, subinterface, Loopback.
DELLSONiC(conf-if-XXXX)#ipv6 enable
Enable IPv6 forwarding on an interface.
DELLSONiC(conf-if-XXXX)#no ipv6 enable
Disable IPv6 forwarding on an interface.
DELLSONiC(conf-if-XXXX)# ipv6 address ipv6-prefix/prefix-length
Configure IPv6-prefix and prefix-length.
DELLSONiC(conf-if-XXXX)# no ipv6 address ipv6-prefix/prefix-length
Remove the IPv6 address.
DELLSONiC(conf-if-XXXX)# no shutdown
If the Interface is shut down, unshut the interface.

Show a command to verify the IPv6 address.
Command Explanation
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
Enter Dell Management Command Line Interface
DELLSONiC# configure terminal
Enter Configuration Mode
DELLSONiC# show ipv6 interfaces
Show IP configured in Interfaces.
DELLSONiC# show running-configuration interface <Eth slot/port><Vlan ID><PortChannel ID><Loopback ID>
Show interface configuration
 

Link Local Address

IPv6 link-local addresses are used to communicate with nodes in the local network. IPv6 link-local addresses are defined under RFC 4291.

Below are the key points that we must know in Dell SONiC concerning IPv6 link-local addresses?
  • The address block fe80::/10 is reserved for IPv6 link-local addresses.
  • The link local address is automatically generated when the IPv6 address is configured on an interface.
  • We cannot assign a static link local address.
  • When we remove IPv6 address from an interface, link local address is also removed.
Sample output
DELLSONiC# show ipv6 interfaces
Flags: U-Unnumbered interface, A-Anycast IP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interface            IP address/mask                              VRF                 Admin/Oper     Flags
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Management0          fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/down
Eth1/1               3000::1/64                                                       up/up
Eth1/1               fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/up
 

IPv6 Address Space

IPv6 Prefix Allocation
2000::/3 Global Unicast
fe80::/10 Link-Scoped Unicast
ff00::/8 Multicast
0000::/8 Reserved by IETF
0100::/8 Reserved by IETF
0200::/7 Reserved by IETF
0400::/6 Reserved by IETF
0800::/5 Reserved by IETF
1000::/4 Reserved by IETF
4000::/3 Reserved by IETF
6000::/3 Reserved by IETF
8000::/3 Reserved by IETF
a000::/3 Reserved by IETF
c000::/3 Reserved by IETF
e000::/4 Reserved by IETF
f000::/5 Reserved by IETF
f800::/6 Reserved by IETF
fe00::/9 Reserved by IETF
fec0::/10 Reserved by IETF
fc00::/7 Unique Local Unicast

Courtesy of Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), Internet Protocol Version 6 Address Space This hyperlink is taking you to a website outside of Dell Technologies.
 

Sample Configuration 

Assign an IP address to an Interface.

Let us assign IPv6 address 3000::1/64 to the interface Eth 1/1.
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
DELLSONiC# configure
DELLSONiC(config)# interface Eth 1/1
DELLSONiC(config-if-Eth1/1)# ipv6 address 3000::1/64
DELLSONiC(config-if-Eth1/1)# end
DELLSONiC#

Let us check the IPv6 address assigned to interface Eth 1/1.
DELLSONiC# show ipv6 interfaces
Flags: U-Unnumbered interface, A-Anycast IP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interface            IP address/mask                              VRF                 Admin/Oper     Flags
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Management0          fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/down
Eth1/1               3000::1/64                                                       up/up
Eth1/1               fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/up
DELLSONiC# show running-configuration interface Eth 1/1
!
interface Eth1/1
 mtu 9100
 no shutdown
 ipv6 address 3000::1/64
 

Assign an IP address to a VLAN.

Let us assign IPv6 address 3000::1/64 to the interface VLAN1.
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
DELLSONiC# configure
DELLSONiC(config)# interface Vlan 1
DELLSONiC(config-if-Vlan1)# ipv6 address 3000::1/64
DELLSONiC(config-if-Vlan1)# end
DELLSONiC#

Let us check the IPv6 address assigned to interface VLAN1.
DELLSONiC# show ipv6 interfaces
Flags: U-Unnumbered interface, A-Anycast IP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interface            IP address/mask                              VRF                 Admin/Oper     Flags
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Management0          fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/down
Vlan1                3000::1/64                                                       up/up
Vlan1                fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/up
DELLSONiC# show running-configuration interface Vlan 1
!
interface Vlan1
 ipv6 address 3000::1/64
DELLSONiC#
 

Assign an IP address to a PortChannel.

Let us assign IPv6 address 3000::1/64 to interface PortChannel1.
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
DELLSONiC# configure
DELLSONiC(config)# interface PortChannel 1
DELLSONiC(config-if-po1)# ipv6 address 3000::1/64
DELLSONiC(config-if-po1)# end
DELLSONiC#

Let us check the IPv6 address assigned to interface PortChannel1.
DELLSONiC# show ipv6 interfaces
Flags: U-Unnumbered interface, A-Anycast IP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interface            IP address/mask                              VRF                 Admin/Oper     Flags
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Management0          fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/down
PortChannel1         3000::1/64                                                       up/up
PortChannel1         fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/up
DELLSONiC# show running-configuration interface PortChannel 1
!
interface PortChannel1
 no shutdown
 ipv6 address 3000::1/64
DELLSONiC#
 

Assign an IP address to a Loopback interface.

NOTE: Loopback supports Prefix length 128.

Let us assign IPv6 address 3000::1/128 to the interface Loopback 1.
admin@DELLSONiC:~$ sonic-cli
DELLSONiC# configure
DELLSONiC(config)# interface Loopback 1
DELLSONiC(config-if-lo1)# ipv6 address 3000::1/128
DELLSONiC(config-if-lo1)# end
DELLSONiC#

Let us check the IPv6 address assigned to interface Loopback 1.
DELLSONiC# show ipv6 interfaces
Flags: U-Unnumbered interface, A-Anycast IP
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interface            IP address/mask                              VRF                 Admin/Oper     Flags
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Management0          fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/down
Loopback1            3000::1/128                                                      up/up
Loopback1            fe80::XXXX:XXXX:XXXX:XXXX/64                                     up/up
DELLSONiC# show running-configuration interface Loopback 1
!
interface Loopback 1
 ipv6 address 3000::1/128
DELLSONiC#

Affected Products

Enterprise SONiC Distribution, PowerSwitch E3200-ON Series, Dell EMC Networking N3200-ON, PowerSwitch S5212F-ON, PowerSwitch S5224F-ON, PowerSwitch S5232F-ON, PowerSwitch S5248F-ON, PowerSwitch S5296F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9264F-ON, PowerSwitch Z9332F-ON , PowerSwitch Z9432F-ON ...
Article Properties
Article Number: 000219072
Article Type: How To
Last Modified: 01 Nov 2023
Version:  2
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