Networking – Can we use IPv6 addresses only

ipv4ipv6networking

I am trying to do a project about IPv6. My first query is, can we completely disable our IPv4 address and use only our IPv6 address? My second query is, how can an IPv6-only host communicate with an IPv4-only host? What type of tunnelling is used for that? When I searched about 6to4 and 6in4, I found that these tunnelling methods are for two IPv6 hosts to communicate over an IPv4 network. So how can an IPv6 host communicate with an IPv4 host?

Best Answer

I am trying to do a project about IPv6. My first query is, can we completely disable our IPv4 address and use only our IPv6 address?

Yes you can. ( not, if you are providing general public services "server")

My second query is, how can an IPv6-only host communicate with an IPv4-only host?

Using NAT64/DNS64. You can provide your own NAT64/DNS64-Gateway or you can just use some public DNS64-servers, like

nameserver 2001:778::37
nameserver 2001:67c:2b0::4
nameserver 2001:67c:2b0::6
nameserver 2001:8b0:6464::1
nameserver 2001:8b0:6464::2

The description is here:

http://ipv6.lt/nat64_en.php (discontinued)

http://www.trex.fi/2011/dns64.html

What type of tunnelling is used for that?

No tunnel. It is translation. It has some limits like the NAT you already know with IPv4.

But IPv6-hosts are not touched by NAT64 - the communicate straight forward.

When I searched about 6to4 and 6in4, I found that these tunnelling methods are for two IPv6 hosts to communicate over an IPv4 network. So how can an IPv6 host communicate with an IPv4 host?

Both tunnels are mostly obsolete. Some ISP use these tunnels in 6rd, but this is no good idea anymore.

Some ISP use 4in6 for ds-lite.(based on native IPv6-network)

To complete NAT64 you can add 464XLAT.

Related Question