Cisco Systems 3750E manual IPv6 Applications, 39-5

Chapter 39 Configuring IPv6 Unicast Routing

Understanding IPv6

A value of 135 in the Type field of the ICMP packet header identifies a neighbor solicitation message. These messages are sent on the local link when a node needs to determine the link-layer address of another node on the same local link. When a destination node receives a neighbor solicitation message, it replies by sending a neighbor advertisement message, which has a value of 136 in the ICMP packet header Type field.

A value of 137 in the ICMP packet header Type field identifies an IPv6 neighbor redirect message. The switch supports ICMPv6 redirect (RFC 2463). Routers send neighbor-redirect messages to inform hosts of better first-hop nodes on the path to a destination. A router does not update its routing tables after receiving a neighbor-redirect message and hosts do not originate neighbor-redirect messages.

Neighbor discovery throttling ensures that the switch CPU is not unnecessarily burdened while it is in the process of obtaining the next hop forwarding information to route an IPv6 packet. The switch performs a drop in hardware of any additional IPv6 packets whose next hop is the same neighbor the CPU is actively resolving. Performing this drop avoids adding further load on the CPU and results in a more efficient use of the switch CPU in an IPv6 routed environment.

IPv6 Stateless Autoconfiguration and Duplicate Address Detection

IPv6 supports two types of autoconfiguration:

•Stateless autoconfiguration (RFC 2462), where a host autonomously configures its own link-local address, and booting nodes send router solicitations to request router advertisements for configuring interfaces

•Stateful autoconfiguration using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) v6.

The switch supports stateless autoconfiguration to manage link, subnet, and site addressing changes, such as management of host and mobile IP addresses.

All interfaces on IPv6 nodes must have a link-local address, which is automatically configured from the identifier (router MAC address) for an interface and the link-local prefix FE80::/10. A link-local address enables a node to communicate with other nodes on the link and can be used to further configure the node. Nodes can connect to a network and automatically generate global IPv6 addresses without the need for manual configuration or the help of a server, such as a DHCP server. With IPv6, a router on the link uses router advertisement messages to advertise global prefixes and its ability to act as a default router for the link. A node on the link can automatically configure global IPv6 addresses by appending its interface identifier (64-bits) to the prefixes (64 bits) included in the router advertisement messages.

The 128-bit IPv6 addresses configured by a node are then subjected to duplicate-address detection (RFC 2462) to ensure their uniqueness on the link. If the advertised prefixes are globally unique, the IPv6 addresses configured by the node are guaranteed to be globally unique. Router solicitation messages, which have a value of 133 in the ICMP packet header Type field, are sent by hosts at system startup so that the host can be immediately autoconfigured without waiting for the next scheduled router advertisement message. IPv6 duplicate-address detection is performed on unicast addresses before they are assigned to an interface. The switch does not support automatically generated site-local IPv6 addresses.

IPv6 Applications

The switch has IPv6 support for these applications:

•Ping, traceroute, Telnet, TFTP, and FTP

•Secure Shell (SSH) over an IPv6 transport

•HTTP server access over IPv6 transport

Catalyst 3750-E and 3560-E Switch Software Configuration Guide

OL-9775-02 39-5