Support for IP Version 6 (IPv6)

6.10 LPAR mode z/VM guest

The qeth device driver supports IPv6 in many network setups.

IPv6 is supported on:
  • Ethernet interfaces of the OSA-Express adapter that runs in QDIO mode.
  • HiperSockets layer 2 and layer 3 interfaces.
  • z/VM® guest LANs running in QDIO mode or HiperSockets layer 3 mode.
  • z/VM virtual NIC interfaces (VSWITCHES and guest LANs) running in layer 2 mode.
IPv6 is not supported on the ATM feature.

There are noticeable differences between the IP stacks for versions 4 and 6. Some concepts in IPv6 are different from IPv4, such as neighbor discovery, broadcast, and Internet Protocol security (IPsec). IPv6 uses a 16-byte address field, while the addresses under IPv4 are 4 bytes in length.

Stateless autoconfiguration generates unique IP addresses for all Linux® instances, even if they share an OSA-Express adapter with other operating systems.

Be aware of the IP version when you specify IP addresses and when you use commands that return IP version-specific output (such as qetharp).