IBM TCP/IP for z/VM Support for IPv6

Supported IPv6 RFCs

The following RFCs are supported by the MPROUTE server:

  • RFC 2080 - RIPng for IPv6
  • RFC 2740 - OSPF for IPv6

The following RFCs are supported by the TCP/IP server

  • RFC 1981 - Path MTU Discovery for IP version 6
  • RFC 2460 - Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification
  • RFC 2461 - Neighbor Discovery for IP Version 6 (IPv6)
  • RFC 2462 - IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration
  • RFC 2463 - Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Specification
  • RFC 2710 - Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) for IPv6
  • RFC 3484 - Default Address Selection for Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
  • RFC 3513 - IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture
  • RFC 4191 - Default Router Preferences and More-Specific Routes
  • RFC 5175 - IPv6 Router Advertisement Flags Option

The following RFCs are supported by the FTP server:

  • RFC 2428 - FTP Extensions for IPv6 and NATs

The following RFCs are supported by the SMTP server:

  • RFC 3363 - Representing IPv6 Addresses in the DNS
  • RFC 3596 - DNS Extensions to Support IPv6
TCP/IP Stack Configuration

The following list of TCP/IP Server configuration statements are updated for IPv6 support, organized by the z/VM release when the support was first introduced. The details for the TCP/IP server configuration statements are described in chapter "Configuring the TCP/IP Server" of the TCP/IP Planning and Customization book.

  • IPv6 configuration changes in z/VM Release 5.1:
    • The ASSORTEDPARMS statement adds the EQUALCOSTIPV6MULTIPATH, IGNOREIPV6REDIRECT, and IPV6SOURCEVIPA options. The NOFWD option applies also to IPv6.
    • The BLOCK statement allows specification of IPv6 addresses
    • The DEVICE and LINK statement for OSD devices provide:
      • the IPV6NONROUTER, IPV6PRIROUTER and IPV6SECROUTER options on the DEVICE statement
      • ENABLEIPV6 option along with its associated DUPADDRXMITS option for the QDIOETHERNET LINK type.
    • The GATEWAY statement allows IPv6 static and default routes to be specified.
    • The HOME statement allows IPv6 home addresses and prefixes to be specified.
    • The ICMPERRORLIMIT statement specifies the maximum number of ICMPv6 error
      • messages that can be sent on a link per second.
    • The IPROUTEPOOLSIZE statement specifies the initial number of IPv6 IP route control blocks as well as the initial IPv4 IP route control blocks.
    • The LESSTRACE, MORETRACE and TRACE statements allow specification of the NED process name.
    • The MONITORRECORDS statement allows specification of the HOMESIPV6 option.
    • The NCBPOOLSIZE statement allows setting the intial number of IPv6 neighbor control blocks.
    • The PORT statement allows specification of IPv6 addresses. An IPv6 address may not be specified for the Telnet server nor may they be defined as secure.
    • The ROUTERADV statement configures router advertisements to be sent on a link.
    • The ROUTERADVPREFIX statement configures prefixes that will be included in router advertisements to be sent on specific link.
    • The TRACEONLY statement allows specification of IPv6 addresses.
  • IPv6 configuration changes in z/VM Release 5.2:
    • The DEVICE and LINK statements for HiperSockets connections provide (with APAR PK14010 applied):
      • The ENABLEIPV6 option on the LINK statement.
      • The VLAN option applies to both IPv4 and IPv6.
  • IPv6 configuration changes in z/VM Release 5.3:
    • The DEVICE and LINK statements for HiperSockets connections provide the SOURCEVIPAINTERFACE option when ENABLEIPV6 is specified on the LINK statement.
    • The DEVICE and LINK statements for OSD devices provide the SOURCEVIPAINTERFACE option and allow specification of a separate VLAN option when ENABLEIPV6 is specified for the QDIOETHERNET LINK type.
    • The DEVICE and LINK statements for VIRTUAL Devices (VIPA) provide the ENABLEIPv6 option on the LINK statement.
  • IPv6 configuration changes in z/VM Release 5.4:
    • The EQUALCOSTIPV6MULTIPATH option is no longer needed on the ASSORTEDPARMS statement. Equal-cost Multi-path support is now always enabled.
    • The LINK statement for QDIO Ethernet devices provides an option to select the transport type (IP or ETHERNET). Specifying ETHERNET will cause the device to operate in Layer 2 mode, which is necessary in order to use IPv6 over a VSWITCH.
IFCONFIG command

  • Allows the display, addition and deletion of IPv6 address and prefixes from interfaces.
  • Allows specification of the IPV6PRIMARY, IPV6SECONDARY and IPV6NONROUTER options for QDIO Ethernet interfaces.
  • Allows specification of a VLAN identifier for IPv6 on QDIO Ethernet interfaces. This support is first available starting with z/VM Release 5.3.
Name Resolution

  • The ETC HOSTS file allows specification of IPv6 addresses for hostnames. The LCL2ETC SEXEC can be used to convert a HOST LOCAL file into the ETC HOSTS format. For more information see the chapter "Configuring the Local Host Files" in the TCP/IP Planning and Customization book.
  • The PING and TRACERTE commands allow specification of a destination hostname which can be resolved into an IPv6 address.
  • The NSINTERADDR statement in the TCPIP DATA file allows the specification of an IPv6 address for the DNS server. This support is available starting with z/VM Release 6.4.
IPWIZARD utility

  • Allows specification of IPv6 addresses for the default gateway
  • Allows specification of an IPv6 HOME address for links of type QDIO Ethernet and HiperSockets (HiperSockets was first allowed starting in z/VM Release 5.2 with APAR PK14010).

The IPWIZARD utility is documented in the chapter "CP Utilities" of the CP Commands and Utilities References. The chapter "Load the System Image" of the Guide for Automated Installation and Service book describes how to use it.

MPROUTE server

The following configuration statements have been added to support RIPng and OSPF for IPv6:

  • IPV6_AREA
  • IPV6_AS_BOUNDARY_ROUTING
  • IPV6_OSPF
  • IPV6_OSPF_INTERFACE
  • IPV6_RANGE
  • IPV6_VIRUTAL_LINK
  • IPV6_ACCEPT_RIP_ROUTE
  • IPV6_RIP_FILTER
  • IPV6_IGNORE_RIP_NEIGHBOR
  • IPV6_ORIGINATE_RIP_DEFAULT
  • IPV6_RIP_INTERFACE
  • IPV6_RIP_SEND_ONLY
  • IPV6_DEFAULT_ROUTE
  • IPV6_INTERFACE

The enhancements to the MPROUTE server for IPv6 are described in chapter "Configuring the MPRoute Server" of the TCP/IP Planning and Customization book. These enhancments were first introduced starting with z/VM Release 5.2.

NETSTAT command

  • IPv6 addresses are displayed in the output of NETSTAT commands
  • IPv6 addresses are allowed on the BLOCK and UNBLOCK commands
  • The NEIGHBOR and DELNEIGHBOR commands display and delete neighbor cache entries, respectively.
  • NETSTAT POOLSIZE displays Neighbor Cache pool information.

Information about the NETSTAT command can be found in the chapter "Monitoring the TCP/IP Network" in the TCP/IP User's Guide.

PING command

  • IPv6 destinations may be specified on the PING command.
  • The ADDRTYPE option was added to force host names to resolve to a specific address family.
  • The LINK option was added to support routing by interface in IPv6.
  • The SOURCEIP option was added to allow specification of the source IP address of the outgoing packet(s).

Information about the PING command can be found in the chapter "Monitoring the TCP/IP Network" in the TCP/IP User's Guide.

TRACERTE command

  • IPv6 destinations may be specified on the TRACERTE command.
  • The ADDRTYPE option was added to force host names to resolve to a specific address family.
  • The LINK option was added to support routing by interface in IPv6.
  • The SOURCEIP option was added to allow specification of the source IP address of the outgoing packet(s).
Information about the TRACERTE command can be found in the chapter "Monitoring the TCP/IP Network" in the TCP/IP User's Guide.

TELNET command

  • IPv6 destinations may be specified on the TELNET command.
  • The ADDRTYPE option was added to force host names to resolve to a specific address family.
Information about the TELNET command can be found in the chapter "Logging on to a Foreign Host" in the TCP/IP User's Guide.

FTP command

  • IPv6 destinations may be specified on the FTP command.
  • The ADDRTYPE option was added to force host names to resolve to a specific address family.
Information about the FTP command can be found in the chapter "Transferring Files Using FTP" in the TCP/IP User's Guide.

Please direct questions, comments and feedback regarding z/VM's IPv6 support or any of the information on this page to:

Miguel Delapaz
z/VM Development
migueld@us.ibm.com
Note: **
All statements regarding IBM's plans, directions, and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice. Any reliance on this Statement of Direction is at the relying party's sole risk and will not create any liability or obligation for IBM.