Suse Linux ( SLES10 ) IPv6 Configuration

by nixCraft on March 18, 2009 · 9 comments· LAST UPDATED March 19, 2009

How do I configure IPv6 networking under SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES v10.2) or OpenSuse Linux by Novell?

IPv6 support under YaST is not upto date. You need to manually edit the configuration files. This is NOT recommended as YaST may get confused later on.

SLES10 IPv6 Configuration From The Command Line

Use the following command to set new IPv6 address using ip command under Suse Linux.

Our Sample IPv6 Setup

IPv6 IP : 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0002/64
IPv6 Default Router IP : 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0001

Task: Adding An IPv6 Address

Type the following command:
ip -6 address add {IPv6-Address}/{NetMask} dev {device-name}
To add 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0002/64 IP to eth0, enter:
# ip -6 address add 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0002/64 dev eth0

Task: Adding A Default Route

Type the following command:
ip -6 route add default via {IP6-Router-IP} dev {device-name}
Add a default IPv6 router IP 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0001, enter:
# ip -6 route add default via 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0001 dev eth0

Task: Display your IPv6 IP addresses configuration

Type the following command:
# ip -6 address show dev eth0
To review your IPv6 routing table, enter:
# ip -6 route show

Task: Testing your IPv6 Configuration

Type the following command:
# ping6 ipv6.google.com # ping6 www.cyberciti.biz
Sample output:

PING6(56=40+8+8 bytes) 2607:f0d0:3001:9::2 --> 2607:f0d0:1002:11::4
16 bytes from 2607:f0d0:1002:11::4, icmp_seq=0 hlim=60 time=34.481 ms
16 bytes from 2607:f0d0:1002:11::4, icmp_seq=1 hlim=60 time=34.207 ms
16 bytes from 2607:f0d0:1002:11::4, icmp_seq=2 hlim=60 time=33.994 ms

Persistence IPv6 Configuration

Above commands will not keep IPv6 configuration across reboots unless the configuration files are updated accordingly. You need to update the following IPv6 configurations under SLES / OpenSuse Linux:

eth0 IPv6 configuration file : /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth-id-${ETHIDFILE}
Default IPv6 routing configuration file : /etc/sysconfig/network/routes

You can find out the value of ETHIDFILE by typing the following command:
# ip link show dev eth0 | awk '/link/{ print $2 }' # ETHIDFILE=$(ip link show dev eth0 | awk '/link/{ print $2 }')
Now, open configuration file, enter:
# cp /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth-id-${ETHIDFILE} /root/ifcfg-eth-id-${ETHIDFILE}.bak vi /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth-id-${ETHIDFILE}
Add configuration as follows:

 
LABEL_0='0'
IPADDR_0='2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0002'
PREFIXLEN_0='64'

Save and close the file. Now, update default IPv6 routing:
# cp /etc/sysconfig/network/routes /root/routes.bak # echo 'default 2607:f0d0:1002:0011:0000:0000:0000:0001 - -' >> /etc/sysconfig/network/routes
Finally, restart the networking under SLES10:
# service network restart
Test your setup, enter:
# ping6 www.cyberciti.biz # ping6 ipv6.google.com

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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

1 damian March 19, 2009 at 11:09 am

Thanks!
I looked for default route setup.

2 charan March 19, 2009 at 12:44 pm

Hi
your information is so use full to me
Thanks

3 Chris March 19, 2009 at 7:57 pm

Thanks a bunch! All your tips are so revelant to a wide audience.

4 Peter August 30, 2010 at 5:45 am

Thanks. Any clues if yast has been updated or not. I can’t find anything, just checking in case i’m missing something that someone else has found.

thanks
P

5 Peter August 30, 2010 at 6:08 am

Actually adding ipv6 address as an additional address comes close.
this gives us the following in /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0 :

IPADDR_0=’fd00::253:0:0:1:52′
LABEL_0=’ipv6′
NETMASK_0=’64′

edit the file and add /64 the end of the ip address on line starting with IPADDR_0
save and exit
rcnetwork restart to get it working

ping6 fd00:0:0:253:0:0:1:104

now works. pretty crappy really.
(worked on both sles10 sp2 and sp3)

6 Russ February 13, 2012 at 6:20 am

That’s a lot of interesting information. Just not interesting to me. I don’t have the time nor interest to learn all the ins & outs of ipv6, I don’t need to understand how it works, or it’s history. I just want it to start working without my having to think – I already have more than enough on my mind as it is.

When I was using Kubuntu it was as simple as adding a package, then it just worked. I didn’t need to know how to set anything. THAT’S what I’m looking for: just ONE really SIMPLE thing to do that will automatically set it up on openSUSE and get it working so I can concentrate on the more important things. If it can be so simple on Kubuntu, then there’s absolutely no reason to make it more difficult by making each and every person study documentation and slowly try to figure out how to get it working step-by-step. It should only take a moment to run. A simple shell script should suffice.

In fact, it should already be running on every installation WITHOUT having to read, setup, or install anything; (as it surprisingly already does in crappy Microsoft installations), so why is it that Linux is so far behind in having ipv6 already working on install?

So, what package or simple shell script do I have to install that just gets it working? Where can I find it?

7 Russ February 13, 2012 at 3:45 pm: More on that file for Kubuntu is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miredo
Note that it isn’t available in OpenSUSE – or some reason.
Reply

8 Don June 18, 2012 at 2:49 pm