Tools to Test and Verify IPv6 Setup

Updated June 7, 2023

IPv6 Testing and Verification Tools

• Calculate IPv6 Subnet
  To estimate how you will need to structure your IPv6 allocation.
• Test IPv6
  To see if you’re device is using IPv6 to connect to the internet, this website will check your browser on your device(s)
• IPv6 Validator
  Website IPv6 accessibility validator: This site will check a URL and see what IPv6 tests it passes.
• MxToolbox IPv6 DNS Lookup
  DNS record checking: For IPv6 to be supported, it needs DNS to be configured, here’s how you can check it.
• MxToolbox Email Check
  Email MX record check: IPv6 doesn’t just affect websites, email too – check to see if your email server(s) are set up with IPv6 records.
• BONUS TOOL
  While you are working on your IPv6 deployment, don’t forget to ensure that you have also updated DNS for your email services to ensure that deliverability is not affected. Mx Toolbox and https://dmarcian.com have good free tools to check and see what types of issues may be affecting email deliverability for your organization.
• OLD SCHOOL TOOL REMINDER
  Feeling like going retro and using the command line? Let’s see if you can handle it. Many OSes include IPv6 compatible versions of standard tools to check connectivity. Note that if IPv6 is NOT configured on your end, these will not work…Some examples:
  • Ping6 (Mac/Linux), ping -6 (Windows) – use IPv6 (if you have it end to end) to see if you can communicate with a target site via IPv6. For example ping6 www.yahoo.com will do a DNS lookup and attempt to ping the IP address over IPv6.
  • Traceroute6 (Mac/Linux) and tracert -6 (Windows) – use IPv6 to find the path through the network between your device and a target site. This can also be helpful in revealing where along the route IPv6 is not implemented or how the route is different than if IPv4 is allowed.

Getting Your Website Ready for IPv6

According to ARIN, here are eight ways to get your website ready for IPv6.

1. Add an IPv6 address to your web server
2. Add an AAAA record for your website
3. Add an AAAA record for your bare domain<
4. Ensure your DNS servers have IPv6 addresses
5. Add IPv6 glue for your nameservers, if necessary
6. Add IPv6 addresses for your incoming mail servers
7. Add reverse DNS for your mail servers’ IPv6 address
8. Check your SPF records

Get all of the details from ARIN. This resource also provides more technical details on how to remedy the suggested ideas above.

IPv6 Growth: Still Going Strong

Worldwide IPv6 Deployment, 2023

As of June 2023, Google’s statistics show IPv6 usage at over 39% percent, more than trip[le where it was in 2017. Some folks may even be running IPv6 but not realizing it.

Understanding the distinguishing characteristics of IPv6 and related security and deployment challenges allows organizations to oversee more successful migrations. IPv6 was designed to accommodate the ever-increasing demands for IP addresses, which, due to their binary nature, remain a finite resource. As a result, one of the fundamental differences between IPv4 and IPv6 is address capacity. The newest version of the Internet Protocol supports more than 340 undecillion addresses, representing a marked improvement from IPv4’s capacity of approximately 4.3 billion addresses.

Questions? Concerns? You can contact us at 6connect to speak directly with an engineer. If you are looking to automate and scale your provisioning, we’ve got your back. Email: info@6connect.com or call +1 (650) 646-2206.