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Configure an IPv6 Address

Background Information

After assigning the primary IPv6 address, regardless of private or public IPv6, to your elastic compute instance, for some instances with certain images, you need to access the instance and configure the IPv6 to make it effective.

IPv4 & IPv6 Dual Stack

You need manually configure the IPv6 address after assigning the primary IPv6 address for the following images:

  • Windows

  • FreeBSD 14

  • Gentoo openrc

IPv6 Single Stack

IPv6 addresses are not supported for the following images:

  • Windows

  • FreeBSD 14

  • Gentoo openrc

If you allocate additional IPv6 addresses to your instances, you also need to configure them on instances. The rules are concluded as follows:

Image
IPv4 & IPv6 Dual Stack
IPv6 Single Stack

  • Ubuntu 20.04

  • Ubuntu 22.04

  • Ubuntu 24.04

  • Debian 12

  • Debian 11

  • Debian 10

  • Debian 9

  • openSUSE lead 15.6

  • Rocky base 9.3

  • CentOS 9

  • Fedora base 39 1.5

  • Alpine 3.19.1

  • ArchLinux

  • AlmaLinux 9.3

  • Primary IPv6 Effective by default. No manual configuration is required.

  • Additional IPv6 Manual configuration is required.

  • Primary IPv6 Effective by default. No manual configuration is required.

  • Additional IPv6 Manual configuration is required.

  • Windows

  • FreeBSD 14

  • Gentoo openrc

  • Primary IPv6 Manual configuration is required.

  • Additional IPv6 Manual configuration is required.

IPv6 addresses are not supported.

Prerequisites

Before configuring the IPv6 address, ensure the IPv6 service is enabled. Currently, you need to enable IPv6 service on the instance with FreeBSD 14 image.

See Enable IPv6 Service for detailed steps.

Procedures

Enable IPv6 Service

You can enable IPv6 service on the instance with FreeBSD 14 image as follows:

  1. Configure your network interface to use IPv6. Run the following command to modify the /etc/rc.conf configuration file.

    sudo vi /etc/rc.conf

  2. Press i to enter edit mode. Add or update the following lines to enable IPv6 on your network interface.

    ipv6_activate_all_interfaces="YES"

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Run the following command to restart your network and apply the configuration.

    /etc/netstart restart

Configure IPv6 Addresses

Configure the IPv6 addresses on your instances with the following images.

Debian 9, Debian 10, Debian 11

The assigned IPv6 address will take effect automatically but may be invalid after an instance reboot. Therefore, cloud-init's ability to modify network interface files in the /etc/network/interfaces.d directory must be disabled.

In the following example, default network interface configuration file is: /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-disable-network-config.cfg.

  1. Execute the following command to open the configuration file of network interface.

    sudo vi /etc/cloud/cloud.cfg.d/99-disable-network-config.cfg

  2. Configure the following information, save and exit.

    network: {config: disabled}

  3. Execute the following command to open the configuration file of network interface.

    sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces.d/50-cloud-init

  4. For Debian 10 and Debian 11, append the following information at the end. 

    iface ens1 inet6 dhcp

    After modification, save and exit.

  5. For Debian 9, append the following information at the end.

    iface eth0 inet6 dhcp

    After modification, save and exit.

  6. Run the following command to reboot your instance.

    sudo reboot
openSUSE lead 15.6

Configure DHCPv6

  1. Open the network configuration file for your network interface (e.g., eth0).

    sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0

  2. Update the file with the following settings to enable DHCP for IPv6.

    codeBOOTPROTO='dhcp'
LLADDR='52:54:00:13:50:20'
STARTMODE='auto'

  3. Reboot the system to apply the changes.

    sudo reboot

Manually Configure an IPv6 Address

  1. Add the IPv6 address. Replace 2001:2:0:d38e:0:2::2 with your actual IPv6 address.

    sudo ip -6 addr add dev eth0 2001:2:0:d38e:0:2::2/64

  2. Add the default IPv6 route. Replace 2001:2:0:d38e::1 with your actual IPv6 gateway.

    sudo ip -6 route add default via 2001:2:0:d38e::1

Make the IPv6 Address Configuration Persistent

  1. Open the network configuration file for your network interface (e.g., eth0).

    sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0

  2. Modify the file to include both static IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

    BOOTPROTO='static'
LLADDR='52:54:00:c4:f9:2c'
STARTMODE='auto'
# Static IPv4 configuration
IPADDR_0='10.1.1.2/24'
# Static IPv6 configuration, use multiple lines for multiple addresses
IPADDR_1='2001:2:0:d38e:0:2::2/64'

  3. Open the routes configuration file.

    sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/network/routes

  4. Add the default IPv4 and IPv6 routes.

    default 10.1.1.1
default 2001:2:0:d38e::1
FreeBSD 14

Note: Enable IPv6 service first before configuration.

Preliminary Steps

  1. Run the following command to open the network configuration file.

    sudo vi /etc/rc.conf

  2. Add the following lines to enable IPv6 address control and network interfaces.

    ip6addrctl_policy="AUTO"
ip6addrctl_enable="YES"
ipv6_network_interface="auto"
ipv6_activate_all_interface=YES

Method 1: Configure DHCPv6

  1. Add the following lines to accept IPv6 router advertisements and specify the DHCP client.

    ifconfig_vtnet0_ipv6="inet6 accept_rtadv"
dhclient_program="/usr/local/sbin/dual-dhclient"

  2. Install the dual-dhclient package to handle DHCPv6.

    sudo pkg install dual-dhclient

  3. Example configuration.

    Your /etc/rc.conf should look something like this.

    growfs_enable="YES"
growfs_swap_size=0
cloudinit_enable="YES"
sshd_enable="YES"
ifconfig_vtnet0="DHCP"
hostname="host-1151000555997504712"
ip6addrctl_policy="AUTO"
ip6addrctl_enable="YES"
ipv6_network_interface="auto"
ipv6_activate_all_interface=YES
ifconfig_vtnet0_ipv6="inet6 accept_rtadv"
dhclient_program="/usr/local/sbin/dual-dhclient"

  4. Reboot the system to apply the changes.

    sudo reboot

Method 2: Manual Configure an IPv6 Address

Replace the placeholders <your_ipv6_address_1>, <your_ipv6_address_2>, <subnet_prefix_length>, and <subnet_gateway_ip> with your actual network values.

  1. Modify /etc/rc.conf for single IPv6 address.

    Add the following lines to manually set a single IPv6 address and default route.

    ifconfig_vtnet0_ipv6="inet6 <your_ipv6_address> prefixlen <subnet_prefix_length> accept_rtadv"
ipv6_gateway_enable="YES"
ipv6_defaultrouter="<subnet_gateway_ip>"

  2. Modify /etc/rc.conf for multiple IPv6 addresses.

    Add the following lines to manually set multiple IPv6 addresses and default route.

    ifconfig_vtnet0_ipv6="inet6 <your_ipv6_address_1> prefixlen <subnet_prefix_length> accept_rtadv"
ifconfig_vtnet0_ipv6_alias0="inet6 <your_ipv6_address_2> prefixlen <subnet_prefix_length>"
ipv6_gateway_enable="YES"
ipv6_defaultrouter="<subnet_gateway_ip>"

  3. Example configuration.

    Your /etc/rc.conf should look something like this.

    growfs_enable="YES"
growfs_swap_size=0
cloudinit_enable="YES"
sshd_enable="YES"
ifconfig_vtnet0="DHCP"
hostname="host-1151000555997504712"
ip6addrctl_policy="AUTO"
ip6addrctl_enable="YES"
ipv6_network_interface="auto"
ipv6_activate_all_interface=YES
ifconfig_vtnet0_ipv6="inet6 2001:2:0:d38e:0:2::2 prefixlen 64 accept_rtadv"
ipv6_gateway_enable="YES"
ipv6_defaultrouter="2001:2:0:d38e::1"

  4. Reboot the system to apply the changes.

    sudo reboot
Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04

The network configuration is typically managed by Netplan.

  1. Netplan configuration files are located in /etc/netplan/. The file might be named something like 01-netcfg.yaml or 50-cloud-init.yaml. Run the following command to open the Netplan configuration file.

    sudo vi /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

  2. Add or modify the configuration. Here is an example.

    network:
  version: 2
  ethernets:
    eth0:
      dhcp4: no
      dhcp6: no
      addresses:
        - 2001:db8::1/64
        - 2001:db8::2/64
      gateway6: 2001:db8::ff
      nameservers:
        addresses:
          - 2001:4860:4860::8888
          - 2001:4860:4860::8844

  3. Apply the Netplan configuration with the following command.

    sudo netplan apply
Debian 12

The network configuration is typically managed through the /etc/network/interfaces file or through NetworkManager.

Edit the Configuration File

  1. Run the following command to open the network configuration file.

    sudo vi /etc/network/interfaces

  2. Add or modify the configuration. Here is an example.

    auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
    address 192.0.2.1
    netmask 255.255.255.0
    gateway 192.0.2.254

iface eth0 inet6 static
    address 2001:db8::1
    netmask 64
    gateway 2001:db8::ff
    up /sbin/ip -6 addr add 2001:db8::2/64 dev eth0

  3. Restart the networking service to apply the changes.

    sudo systemctl restart networking

Use NetworkManager

You can use nmcli or the graphical NetworkManager tool to configure the network settings.

Here is an example for nmcli.

nmcli connection modify eth0 ipv6.method manual ipv6.addresses 2001:db8::1/64 ipv6.gateway 2001:db8::ff ipv6.dns "2001:4860:4860::8888,2001:4860:4860::8844"
nmcli connection up eth0
Rocky base 9.3

Configure DHCPv6

  1. Run the following command to open the network interface configuration file. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface value.

    sudo vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

  2. Press i to enter insert mode, and add the following configuration.

    IPV6INIT=yes
DHCPV6C=yes

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart the instance to apply the configuration changes.

    sudo reboot
CentOS 9

Configure DHCPv6

  1. Run the following command to open the network interface configuration file. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface value.

    sudo vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

  2. Press i to enter insert mode, and add the following configuration.

    IPV6INIT=yes
DHCPV6C=yes

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart the instance to apply the configuration changes.

    sudo reboot
Fedora base 39 1.5

Modify the NetworkManager connection profile to configure IPv6 addresses.

Configure DHCPv6

  1. Run the following command to open the cloud-init-eth0.nmconnection file. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface identifier if necessary.

    sudo vi /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/cloud-init-eth0.nmconnection

  2. Make sure the following settings are present under the [ipv6] section.

    [ipv6]
method=auto

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart NetworkManager to apply the changes.

    sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager

Manually Configure an IPv6 Address

  1. Run the following command to open the cloud-init-eth0.nmconnection file. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface value.

    sudo vi /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/cloud-init-eth0.nmconnection

  2. Modify the [ipv6] section. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface name and use your specific IPv6 address, prefix length, and gateway.

    [ipv6]
method=manual
addresses1=2001:db8::1/64
gateway=2001:db8::ff
dns=2001:4860:4860::8888;2001:4860:4860::8844;

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart NetworkManager to apply the IPv6 configuration.

    sudo systemctl restart NetworkManager
Alpine 3.19.1

Use the dhcpcd package to configure DHCPv6.

  1. Install the dhcpcd package, which is a DHCP client daemon.

    apk add dhcpcd

  2. Enable dhcpcd to start at boot and then start the service.

    rc-update add dhcpcd default
rc-service dhcpcd start

  3. Reboot the system to apply the configuration changes.

    sudo reboot
ArchLinux

Configure DHCPv6

  1. By default, cloud-init generates a DHCP configuration file located at /etc/systemd/network/10-cloud-init-eth0.network. Open this file to verify the configuration.

    sudo vi /etc/systemd/network/10-cloud-init-eth0.network

  2. Make sure the following lines are present under the [Network] section.

    [Match]
Name=eth0

[Network]
DHCP=yes

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart the systemd-networkd service to apply the configuration.

    sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd

Configure an IPv6 Address

  1. Run the following command to create or edit /etc/systemd/network file.

    sudo vi /etc/systemd/network/10-static-eth0.network

  2. Add the following lines to the file. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface name and use your specific IPv6 address, prefix length, and gateway.

    [Match]
Name=eth0

[Network]
Address=2001:db8::1/64
Gateway=2001:db8::ff
DNS=2001:4860:4860::8888 2001:4860:4860::8844

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart the systemd-networkd service to apply the static IPv6 configuration.

    sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd
AlmaLinux 9.3

Configure DHCPv6

  1. Run the following command to open the network interface configuration file. Replace eth0 with your actual network interface value.

    sudo vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0

  2. Press i to enter insert mode, and add the following configuration.

    IPV6INIT=yes
DHCPV6C=yes

  3. Press Esc to exit edit mode. Type :wq and press Enter to save and exit.

  4. Restart the instance to apply the configuration changes.

    sudo reboot
Gentoo openrc

Gentoo openrc supports DHCPv6 by default through configuration files located in /etc/init.d/net.*. You can manually create the /etc/conf.d/net file to configure IPv6 addresses.

Configure DHCPv6

  1. Run the following command to create or edit /etc/conf.d/net file.

    sudo vi /etc/conf.d/net

  2. Add configuration for DHCP.

    config_eth0="dhcp"

Manual Configure an IPv6 Address

  1. Run the following command to create or edit /etc/conf.d/net file.

    sudo vi /etc/conf.d/net

  2. Add Configuration for IPv6. Replace with your actual network values.

    config_eth0="2001:db8::1/64"
routes_eth0="default via 2001:db8::ff"
dns_servers_eth0="2001:4860:4860::8888 2001:4860:4860::8844"

  3. Restart the network service.

    sudo /etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart

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