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Stateless Autoconfiguration Overview
Stateless autoconfiguration requires no manual configuration of hosts, minimal (if any) configuration of routers, and no additional servers. The stateless mechanism enables a host to generate its own addresses. The stateless mechanism uses local information as well as nonlocal information that is advertised by routers to generate the addresses.
You can implement temporary addresses for an interface, which are also autoconfigured. You enable a temporary address token for one or more interfaces on a host. However, unlike standard, autoconfigured IPv6 addresses, a temporary address consists of the site prefix and a randomly generated 64 bit number. This random number becomes the interface ID portion of the IPv6 address. A link-local address is not generated with the temporary address as the interface ID.
Routers advertise all prefixes that have been assigned on the link. IPv6 hosts use Neighbor Discovery to obtain a subnet prefix from a local router. Hosts automatically create IPv6 addresses by combining the subnet prefix with an interface ID that is generated from an interface's MAC address. In the absence of routers, a host can generate only link-local addresses. Link-local addresses can only be used for communication with nodes on the same link.
Note - Do not use stateless autoconfiguration to create the IPv6 addresses of servers. Hosts automatically generate interface IDs that are based on hardware-specific information during autoconfiguration. The current interface ID could become invalid if the existing interface is swapped for a new interface.
Overview of IPv6 Tunnels
For most enterprises, the introduction of IPv6 to an existing IPv4 network must occur on a gradual, step-by-step basis. The Solaris dual-stack network environment supports both IPv4 and IPv6 functionality. Because most networks use the IPv4 protocol, IPv6 networks currently require a way to communicate outside their borders. IPv6 networks use tunnels for this purpose.
In most IPv6 tunneling scenarios, the outbound IPv6 packet is encapsulated inside an IPv4 packet. The boundary router of the IPv6 network sets up a point-to-point tunnel over various IPv4 networks to the boundary router of the destination IPv6 network. The packet travels over the tunnel to the destination network's boundary router, which decapsulates the packet. Then, the router forwards the separate IPv6 packet to the destination node.
The Solaris IPv6 implementation supports the following tunneling scenarios:
A manually configured tunnel between two IPv6 networks, over an IPv4 network. The IPv4 network can be the Internet or a local network within an enterprise.
A manually configured tunnel between two IPv4 networks, over an IPv6 network, usually within an enterprise.
A dynamically configured automatic 6to4 tunnel between two IPv6 networks, over an IPv4 network at an enterprise or over the Internet.
For detailed information about IPv6 tunnels, refer to IPv6 Tunnels. For information about IPv4- to-IPv4 tunnels and VPN, refer to Virtual Private Networks and IPsec.