In this post, I will show you how to configure IPv6 addresses in Cisco Packet Tracer. In this demonstration, we will practice configuring IPv6 addresses on both a Cisco router and PCs.
There are two primary types of IP addresses: IPv6 and IPv4.
In the early days of networking, IPv4 served as the primary IP addressing scheme. However, due to the limited availability of only 4,294,967,296 IPv4 addresses and the ever-expanding global population, the surge in internet users has nearly exhausted these addresses.
To address the issue of rapid exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, the IPv6 addressing scheme was introduced, supporting up to 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 IP addresses.
Today, I will show you how to configure IPv6 addresses on a network that is already running on IPv4 addresses. So, we will be creating an IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack network. An IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack network is a network that is running both IPv4 and IPv6 addressing. It is a modern method of transitioning a network that is initially running IPv4 addresses into IPv6 addresses.
Network topology
The network topology we will be using in this post is shown below. As you can see, it consists of a router, 3 switches, and 3 PCs. The IPv4 network already configured on the network is labeled in the topology. Additionally, the IPv6 network addresses we will be configuring in this demonstration are also labeled.
Download the premade lab file(and unzip it) or recreate the network topology shown below on your packet tracer software.
Lab Task
The objective of this Lab is to Perform the following IPv6 configurations to create an IPv4/IPv6 ‘dual-stack’ network. (The IPv4 configuration of each device is complete.)
- Enable IPv6 routing on R1.
- Configure the appropriate IPv6 addresses on R1.
- Confirm your configurations.
- What IPv6 addresses are present on each interface?
- Configure the appropriate IPv6 addresses on each PC.
- Configure the correct default gateway.
- Attempt to ping between the PCs (IPv4 and IPv6)
Lab Solution
Here is the configuration needed to be completed on the lab
Configuring IPV6 address on Cisco router
R1>enable
R1#configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
R1(config)#ipv6 unicast-routing
R1(config)#interface g0/0
R1(config-if)#ipv6 address 2001:DB8:0:1::1/64
R1(config-if)#interface g0/1
R1(config-if)#ipv6 address 2001:DB8:0:2::1/64
R1(config-if)#interface g0/2
R1(config-if)#ipv6 address 2001:DB8:0:3::1/64
Confirming IPV6 address configuration (IPV6 show command)
R1(config-if)#do show ipv6 interface brief
GigabitEthernet0/0 [up/up]
FE80::201:97FF:FE9A:AC01 ------> link local address
2001:DB8:0:1::1 ------> Interface address
GigabitEthernet0/1 [up/up]
FE80::201:97FF:FE9A:AC02 ------> link local address
2001:DB8:0:2::1 ------> Interface address
GigabitEthernet0/2 [up/up]
FE80::201:97FF:FE9A:AC03 ------> link local address
2001:DB8:0:3::1 ------> Interface address
Vlan1 [administratively down/down]
unassigned
R1(config-if)#Configuring IPV6 address on PCs
The image below shows the configuration of IPV6 address on the PCs as labelled on the network diagram above.
On PC1
On PC 2
On PC3
Testing IPV6 connectivity
As shown in the image below, I pinged from PC2 to the IPV6 addresses configured on PC1 and PC3, and there was connectivity.
I am a passionate Networking Associate specializing in Telecommunications.
With a degree in Electronic engineering, I possess a strong understanding of electronic systems and the intricacies of telecommunications networks. I gained practical experience and valuable insights working for a prominent telecommunications company.
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