IPv6 VSS and VDS

[gh0stwalker]

I understand that IPv6 needs to be enabled on the host so that IPv6 can be used for vmkernel adapters, but if all we need is IPv6 on virtual machines (thus through both standard switches and distributed switches) do we still need to enable IPv6 on the host? My assumption is yes, but I've seen nothing around that indicates how the standard/distributed switches get configured for IPv6 once it has been enabled on the host.

Also, If some hosts have IPv6 enabled and some don't, how does a distributed switch treat IPv6 traffic?

[rcporto]

Your VMs can run IPv6 and IPv4 (or both at the same time) even if your host uses only IPv4... and about the virtual switch, the IPv6/IPv4 are Layer 3 protocols and will work on VSS or VDS.

Anyway, if do you want manage or connect to your host from the VMs and for example, your host uses IPv4 and VMs IPv6, do you will need some kind of tunneling or router to convert IPv4 traffic to IPv6 and vice versa.

[gh0stwalker]

Thanks for the reply Richardson. Can you clarify whether I need to enable IPv6 support on each host before IPv6 communication will work between VM's?

We don't want to manage the hosts via IPv6, it's purely for communication between VM's on separate hosts.

[rcporto]

Can you clarify whether I need to enable IPv6 support on each host before IPv6 communication will work between VM's?

No, you don't need enable IPv6 on hosts to allow IPv6 traffic between VMs... enabling the IPv6 on host will gives you the option to create interfaces on hypervisor with support for IPv6, for management purposes or storage access... but for only VM traffic, you don't need enable.