Re: [gentoo-user] To all IPv6-slackers among the Gentoo community

[Dale]

Mick wrote:
> On Tuesday, 26 November 2019 15:16:24 GMT Dale wrote:
>> Adam Carter wrote:
>>> On Tue, Nov 26, 2019 at 1:53 AM Ralph Seichter <abbot@×××××××××××.net
>>>
>>> <mailto:abbot@×××××××××××.net>> wrote:
>>>     https://www.ripe.net/ripe/mail/archives/ripe-list/2019-November/001712
>>>     .html
>>>
>>>     This does not come as a surprise, of course, but I consider it a good
>>>     point in time to pause and ask oneself what each individual can do to
>>>     move further towards IPv6. The end is neigh(ish).
>>>
>>> Turning on ipv6 has been on my agenda for a while, but I will need to
>>> setup a firewall. Currently i have a single ipv4 NAT box with some
>>> port forwards. However, when i enable v6, all my internal hosts become
>>> directly routable from the Internet via the /56 my ISP assigns me.
>> I have a question about this.  I've read about this for ages and sort of
>> get the idea, running out of numbers basically.  There's two questions
>> that I can't answer tho.  I have a old Linksys router, the old blue
>> thing that is so common.  Would I have to buy a new router?
> Yes.  You will need a router which has an IPv6 network stack on it, besides
> the legacy IPv4 network stack, to be able to route IPv6 addresses directly
> from your LAN.
>
> Depending on how useful your ISP is, they may offer IPv6 tunneling over IPv4.
> You connect to their gateway/proxy over IPv4 as you do now with your existing
> router, but route through the IPv4 tunnel your IPv6 connections.  Their
> gateway will act as an endpoint for your IPv4 tunnel and forward your IPv6
> packets to the IPv6 interwebs.  It is likely they will only do this after they
> have a good sniff at them, but in this age of universal surveillance such an
> activity won't be something surprising.
>
>
>> I also have
>> a older DSL modem, it's a old Westell black box.  Would this require a
>> newer modem as well?
> If this is an ADSL modem only (i.e. no PPP negotiation or NAT'ing - a.k.a.
> 'Fully Bridged Mode') then it is using ATM encapsulation.  IPv4 or IPv6
> packets from your LAN will be encapsulated into ATM frames by your modem and
> sent to the telephone exchange over copper wires.  There is no need to change
> your modem in this case.
>
> However, if your modem is operating in a 'Half-Bridged mode' then it is
> essentially performing IP masquerading plus ATM encapsulation.  In this case
> it is routing ethernet - it will have to be able to manage IPv6 packets.  An
> old (legacy) router will only have IPv4 stack and the previous comments apply.
> You could always set the modem in fully bridged mode, after you connect to its
> management interface, and thereafter use your router to perform PPP
> authentication with your ISP.  In fully bridged mode you won't need to change
> your modem.
>
>
>> I'm thinking those boxes would have to have
>> software at least that would support the newer addresses but nothing
>> I've read really answers those questions.  I don't know if they even
>> update software on those old things.
>>
>> Thoughts??
>>
>> Dale
>>
>> :-)  :-)
> You need to google for alternative linux based firmware/software for your
> router and modem make and model.  However, if these are really old devices,
> then their chipsets and RAM may not be adequate to allow them to run dual
> network stacks without grinding to a halt.  If the OEMs never provided IPv6
> capability, for these devices it could well be the case the hardware is not
> capable of carrying the processing load.


I enter my username/password on the modem so I'm pretty sure it is
processing the packets and such.  There is no mention of anything IPv4
or v6.  I'd suspect it is v4 only, since it works it has to support v4. 
lol  So, old modem may have to be bricked at some point.  I do have a
newer gray modem that came with the DSL kit.  I stopped using it because
it got so warm.  The old black box one runs cool and it has more vent
holes.  I may have to check and see if the gray one supports v6 but it
is fairly old too.  It's at least 10 years old. 

My router also makes no mention of IPv4 or v6.  I suspect it is in the
same boat as the modem, it doesn't support it and doesn't have the
option to either.  I did go to the Linksys website and look for a
firmware upgrade, nothing available, not even a old one. 

I did some searching for routers with ipv6 support.  I'm not finding a
lot.  Is this something I need to worry about yet?  I mean, is there a
lot of IPv6 equipment even available right now? 

Thanks to all for the info.  Both had good info that helped.  Water
isn't quite as muddy as it was.

Dale

:-)  :-)