A Virtual Data Center (VDC) is a collection of cloud resources for creating an enterprise-grade IT infrastructure. A Local Area Network (LAN) in a VDC refers to the interconnected network of Virtual Machines (VMs) within a single physical server or cluster of servers. The LAN in a VDC is a critical component of cloud computing infrastructure that enables efficient and secure communication between VMs and other resources within the data center.
VDC operates in a dual-stack mode that is, the Network Interface Cards (NICs) can communicate over IPv4, IPv6, or both. In Data Center Designer (DCD), IPv6 can be enabled for both Private and Public LANs, but on provisioning, only Public IPv6 addresses are allocated to all LANs.
Machines use IP addresses to communicate over a network, and IONOS has introduced Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) to its compute instances, offering a significantly larger pool of unique addresses. This upgrade enables support for the ever-growing number of connected devices.
At IONOS, we recognize the significance of IPv6 configuration in virtual environments and offer a flexible and scalable infrastructure that accommodates IPv6 configuration, allowing our customers to take advantage of the latest features.
One of the primary requirements is to ensure that VMs in the VDC can access services on the internet over IPv6. IONOS allows you to do the necessary provisions to provide seamless service access.
In addition to being a client to an IPv6 service, a Virtual Machine (VM) in the IONOS Virtual Data Center (VDC) can provide a service, such as a simple REST API, over IPv6. In this case, it is essential to ensure that the IPv6 address assigned to the VM is static. If DHCPv6 is enabled, the NICs can receive their static IPv6 address(es) using DHCPv6. You do not need to log in every server and hardcode the IPv6 address. A Network Interface Card (NIC) has a Media Access Control address (MAC) and it sends a DHCPv6-Discover request to every user asking for a configuration for its MAC address. DHCPv6 shares configuration information with NIC, containing the IPv6 address. Our DHCPv6 has the information on which MAC address gets which IPv6 address(es). This is a critical requirement to allow you to access the service continuously, without any interruptions.
IONOS supports the internet standard IPv6. Following are a few concepts associated with it:
IPv6 or Internet Protocol version 6, is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP) that provides a new generation of addressing and routing capabilities. The IPv6 is designed to replace the older IPv4 protocol, which is limited in its available address space.
IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, providing an almost limitless number of unique addresses. This allows for a much larger number of devices to be connected to the Internet.
IPv6 defines several types of addresses, including unicast, multicast, and anycast addresses. Unicast addresses identify a single interface on a device, multicast addresses identify a group of devices, and anycast addresses identify a group of interfaces that can respond to a packet.
IPv6 addresses are divided into two parts: a prefix and an interface identifier. The prefix is used for routing and can be assigned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or network administrator, while the interface identifier is typically generated by the device.
As IPv6 adoption continues, transition mechanisms are used to ensure compatibility between IPv6 and IPv4 networks. These mechanisms include dual-stack, tunneling, and translation methods. For more information about IPv6 see our latest blog on IPv6: Everything about the New Internet Standard.
To update IPv6 configurations for LANs in the Data Center Designer (DCD), follow these steps:
Select the LAN you want to update IPv6 for.
You can update your IPv6 CIDR block with prefix length /64 from the VDCs allocated range.
Start provisioning by clicking PROVISION CHANGES in the Inspector pane.
The Virtual Data Center (VDC) will now be provisioned with the new network settings. In this case, the existing configuration gets reprovisioned accordingly.
Note: IPv6 traffic and IPv6-enabled LANs are now supported for the Flow Logs feature. For more information about how to enable flow logs in DCD, see Enable Flow Logs.
Prerequisites:
Prior to enabling IPv6, make sure you have the appropriate privileges. New Virtual Data Center (VDC) can be created by the contract owners, administrators, or users with create VDC privilege. The leading number of bits in the address that cannot be changed is the prefix length. For Data Center IPv6 CIDR, the prefix length is /56.
You can enable the IPv6 LAN and configure the network to support IPv6. Using IPv6 LANs, devices can communicate on the same LAN using standard IPv6 protocols. IONOS LANs route packets between devices and networks, ensuring that the network runs smoothly and effectively.
To disable IPv6 for LANs in the Data Center Designer (DCD), follow these steps:
Select the LAN you want to disable IPv6 for, and clear the Activate IPV6 for this LAN checkbox.
Start provisioning by clicking PROVISION CHANGES in the Inspector pane.
The Virtual Data Center (VDC) is provisioned with the new network settings. On disabling IPv6 on a LAN, existing IPv6 configuration on the Network Interface Card (NICs) will be removed or deleted.
Learn how to enable IPv6 for LANs in VDC using the DCD. |
Learn how to update IPv6 for LANs in VDC using the DCD. |
Learn how to disable IPv6 for LANs in VDC using the DCD. |
Learn all about the limitations associated with IPv6. |
Learn all about the FAQs associated with IPv6. |
How do I configure IPv6 on my network?
IPv6 can be configured via the Data Center Designer (DCD) or Cloud API using IPv6-enabled LAN. You can get IPv6 support by configuring the network. For more information about how to enable IPv6 on Virtual Data Center LANs in DCD, see .
Why do we need IPv6 configuration in DCD?
The main reason for the transition to IPv6 is the exhaustion of available IPv4 addresses due to the exponential growth of the internet and the increasing number of devices connected to it.
If I use private images, do I need to adapt them in any way so that they support IONOS IPv6?
IONOS IPv6 implementation currently supports Ubuntu and Windows images. If you want to use images other than Ubuntu, you may need to tweak the OS initialization process of your image. For example, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol version 6 (DHCPv6) client may need to be run manually after the system boot. We are currently working on supporting IPv6 on all IONOS public images selectable in the DCD. Generally, if the interfaces have not received an IPv6 address from the IONOS Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, try to run the dhcp6 client manually.
For other operating systems, the DHCPv6 client may require a manual restart to apply the new configuration received from the DHCPv6 server. This is because the client device may have cached the previous configuration information and needs to clear it before applying the new one. However, not all DHCPv6 implementations require a manual restart, as some may be able to automatically apply the new configuration without any intervention.
To enable IPv6 for Local Area Network (LAN) in the Data Center Designer (DCD), follow these steps:
Drag the Server element from the Palette onto the Workspace. The created server is automatically highlighted in turquoise. The allows you to configure the properties of this individual server instance.
Drop the internet element onto the Workspace, and connect it to a LAN to provide internet access. First, connect the server or cube to the internet and then to the Local Area Network (LAN).
Note: Upon provisioning, the data centre will be allocated a /56 network prefix by default.
By default, every new LAN has IPv6 addressing disabled. Select the checkbox Activate IPv6 for this LAN in LAN view.
Note: On selecting PROVISION CHANGES, you can populate the LAN IPv6 CIDR block with prefix length /64 or allow it to be automatically assigned from the VDCs allocated /56 range. /64 indicates that the first 64 bits of the 128-bit IPv6 address are fixed. The remaining bits (64 in this case) are flexible, and you can use all of them.
In the Inspector pane, configure your LAN device in the Network tab. Provide the following details:
Name: Your choice is recommended to be unique to this Virtual Data Center (VDC).
MAC: The Media Access Control (MAC) address will be assigned automatically upon provisioning.
LAN: Select a LAN for which you want to configure the network.
Firewall: To activate the firewall, choose between Ingress / Egress / Bidirectional.
IPv4 Configuration: Provide the following details:
Failover: If you have an HA setup including a failover configuration on your VMs, you can create and manage IP failover groups that support your High Availability (HA) setup.
Firewall: Configure the firewall.
DHCP: It is often necessary to run a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server in your VDC (e.g. Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) boot for fast rollout of VMs). If you use your own DHCP server, clear this checkbox so that your IPs are not reassigned by the IONOS DHCP server.
Add IP: In order to use "floating" or virtual IPs, you can assign additional IPs to a NIC by selecting them from the drop-down menu.
IPv6 Configuration: Provide the following details:
NIC IPv6 CIDR: You can populate an IPv6 CIDR block with prefix length /80 or allow it to be automatically assigned from the VDCs allocated range, by selecting PROVISION CHANGES. You can also choose 1 or more individual /128 IPs. Only the first IP is automatically allocated. The remaining IPs can be assigned as per your requirement. The maximum number of IPv6 IPs that can be allocated per NIC is 50.
DHCPv6: It is often necessary to run your own DHCPv6 server in your Virtual Data Center (VDC) (e.g. PXE boot for fast rollout of VMs). If you use your own DHCPv6 server, clear this checkbox so that your IPs are not reassigned by the IONOS DHCPv6 server.
Add IP: In order to use "floating" or virtual IPs, you can assign additional IPs to a NIC by selecting them from the drop-down menu.
Start the provisioning process by clicking PROVISION CHANGES in the Inspector.
The Virtual Data Center (VDC) is provisioned with the new network settings.
Note:
IPv6 CIDR assigned to LANs(/64) and NICs(/80 and /128) must be unique.
You can create a max of 256 IPv6-enabled LANs per VDC.
One limitation of IPv6 is that a /56 block is typically assigned to a data center, with a /64 block assigned inside this /56 block to the Local Area Network (LAN). The difference between a /56 and a /64 block is 8, resulting in 2^8 (2 to the power of 8) blocks, or a total of 256 blocks. This limitation can impact the scalability and flexibility of IPv6 addressing in large networks. Therefore, it is important to carefully consider the allocation of IPv6 blocks to ensure efficient utilization of available resources.
You will get a new /56 prefix every time you create a new data center. If your services depend on static IPv6 addresses, and you want to rebuild your data center, you must not delete the data center itself, but only its components, such as, LANs, NICs, etc. For more information about how to create new Data Center LANs in DCD, see .
Currently, only Ubuntu and Windows images are supported. If you want to use images other than these, you need to tweak the OS initialization process of your image. For example, the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol version 6 (DHCPv6) client may need to be run manually after restarting the system for Debian. We are currently working on supporting IPv6 on all IONOS images selectable in the DCD. Generally, if the interfaces have not received an IPv6 address from the IONOS DHCP server, try to run the DHCPv6 client manually. For more information, see .
AlmaLinux operates seamlessly when the hostname aligns with the requirements of the Network Manager DHCPv6 client. To ensure smooth functionality, it is crucial to have a valid hostname. For more information, see the .
In previous versions of Rocky Linux, it is important to note that the IPv6 protocol may not be readily available after the initial boot. For the latest version Rocky Linux 9.0, you can use IPv6 support right from the first boot.
Currently, IPv6 is not available for Managed Services such as Application Load Balancer (ALB), Network Load Balancer (NLB), Network Address Translation (NAT) Gateway, IP Failover and Managed Kubernetes (MK8s).
Primary IP: The primary IP address is automatically assigned by the IONOS DHCP . You can, however, enter an IP address for manual assignment by selecting one of the reserved IPs from the drop-down list. Private IP addresses should be entered manually. The has to be connected to the Internet.
