Join Project 6Core

To join the 6Core you will need to follow the steps below. If you are still unclear about anything after reading this, or have suggestions and comments on its content, please send email to Fahad Ali Khan < This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it >.

WHY YOU ARE JOINING THE 6BONE AND THE STATE OF IPV6 PRODUCTS

It is assumed that you want to join the 6Core to gain early experience with IPv6, and to make your organization IPv6 ready.

A BIT OF INFO ON IPv6 ADDRESSES

Many folks ask about how to get IPv6 addresses. The long answer to this is, read the rest of this write-up, the relevant standards documents etc. and you will eventually learn how this works. However, a shorter answer might help the newcomer, so here goes.
Globally addressable IPv6 unicast addresses are in the IPv6 Global Unicast Address Format which has a three level hierarchy that includes a Public Topology (the 48 bit external routing prefix), a Site Topology (typically a 16 bit subnet number), and an Interface Identifier (typically an automatically generated 64 bit number unique at least on the local LAN segment).

The Public Topology has two or more levels of hierarchy, specifying the Top Level Aggregator (typically a high level ISP), Next Level Aggregators (zero or more mid-level ISPs) and a final Next Level Aggregator which is the end-user-site. The point here is that end-user-sites get their address prefix from an ISP that provides them IPv6 service.

6Core Backbone Routing Guidelines defines the rules, criteria, and policy for becoming a TLA on the 6Core:

To become a TLA, the applicant must be ISP with reachability in major areas of Pakistan. The applicant ISP must have its IPv6 CIDR registered with APNIC.
BGP4+ peering need to be created with all TLAs
Maintained AAAA and PTR records for its border router in a local DNS server
Maintained an IPv6-accessible system providing at least one web page or more of information
The applicant must have the ability and the intent to provide "production quality" 6Core backbone service. More specifically, the applicant must claim to have the support staff and tools to operate as a TLA.
The applicant must have potential end users who would be served by it as a TLA.

EQUIPMENT NEEDS

The next step is to decide what equipment you will use. You need to get at least one device to act as a router and one device to be a host. In theory they could be the same system, although this doesn't do much to help get real experience with IPv6 in a local environment.

ROUTERS

We won't make any value judgment as to what router(s) you should use. The following is just information about current implementations. But do realize that whatever you do, it is highly likely that you will need a standalone router device (albeit a workstation or a real router) dedicated to this purpose until the time you can integrate IPv6 into your sites network.

For peering to the 6core you need to either support a static route or BGP4+. If you were acting as a 6Core TLA (i.e., backbone site) you must use BGP4+.

FINDING A POINT ON THE 6BONE TO ATTACH TO

You will need to select a 6core site to connect to, either at the TLA (TLA 6Core backbone transit) or PLA (Provider Level aggregator) level. You will be building a configured IPv4 tunnel from you site's IPv6 router to the 6Core TLA point of entry that will carry your IPv6 packets.

Although there is no absolute reason that you can't pick a random 6Core site and ask them to support your connection, there are practical routing considerations of the underlying IPv4 path that you use. In particular, as your IPv6 packets are in carried in an IPv4 tunnel, the route they take is not under your control. Thus a new site should seek a 6Core point that appears to be reasonably adjacent (close to) your normal IPv4 paths into the Internet.

Once you have an agreement from a 6Core TLA/PLA to connect you, you are ready for more serious business!

CONFIGURING YOUR IPv6 ROUTER AND WORKSTATION

Configuring your IPv6 router and workstation is obviously totally dependent on what equipment/software/os you choose for them. If your process of deciding what equipment to use didn't yield you contacts/information on this, query the 6Core technical team ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) for advice/help.

GETTING IPv6 ADDRESSES AND BUILDING YOUR TUNNEL TO THE 6BONE

Assuming you have equipment configured, and a TLA/PLA site agreeing to support you, you are ready to contact your 6Core TLA/PLA site for them to assign you an IPv6 address.

Addresses used are the new style Aggregatable Global Unicast Addresses assigned under the 6Core TEST TLA assignment to TLAs and on to PLAs under them and on to the user/leaf site. That is, your address is totally determined by your provider/point-of-attachment to the 6Core.

Your 6Core provider now will now work with you to build your configured tunnel to reach them. This tunnel information must be added by you to your ipv6-site object to document it has been done (never make this tunnel entry without full agreement of the other end-point of the tunnel). These tunnel specifiers are used by countless utilities on the network to learn network topology, tobuild network diagrams and to test out reliability, reachability and performance. They are important, so keep them updated.

DNS SUPPORT

You will need a nameserver that supports IPv6 AAAA records. The IPv6 DNS Setup web pages, written/maintained by Yuji Sekiya (ISI) and Bertrand Buclin (AT&T Labs Europe), shows how to setup for IPv6 in an existing IPv4 DNS server. Note that you will need a secondary that also supports AAAA records.

6Core Project team also working on to develop IPv6 OPEN DNS for 6Core TLA/PLA/SLA. We will update you as soon as 6DNS alive.

AT THIS POINT YOU SHOULD BE UP AND RUNNING