IPv6 Utilities

Changes in the configuration are not stable and are lost if you reboot the computer. You can accumulate configuration changes by scripting them as command lines in a command script file (.cmd) that you can run after restarting either your computer or the IPv6 protocol. Use Scheduled Tasks in Control Panel to run the .cmd file when the computer starts to run your configuration changes automatically after restarting your computer.

Ipv6.exe

Doing configuration for the IPv6 protocol is in IPv6.exe. The following are the IPv6.exe commands each with its own set of parameters and descriptions:

• ipv6 install It installs the IPv6 protocol as a network protocol for LAN connections. It appears in the list of components in the properties of a local area connection in Network Connections. Simply type ipv6 if at the Command Prompt to determine if IPv6 is installed.
• ipv6 uninstall Eliminates the IPv6 protocol as a network protocol for LAN connections.
• ipv6[-v] if [IfIndex] It displays information about interfaces. If an interface index number is precise, information only about that interface is displayed else, information about all interfaces is displayed. The output includes the interface's link-layer address and the list of IPv6 addresses assigned to the interface. The -v parameter displays additional interface information.
  • Interface 1 is a pseudo-interface that is used for loopback (named the Loopback Pseudo-Interface).
  • Interface 2 is a pseudo-interface that is used for automatic tunneling (named the Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface).
  • Interface 3 is typically a pseudo-interface that is used for 6to4 tunneling (named the 6to4 Tunneling Pseudo-Interface).
  • Other interfaces are numbered sequentially in the order in which they are created. This order varies among computers.
  • If the link-layer address is of the form aa-bb-cc-dd-ee-ff, it is a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) or Ethernet interface.
  The loopback, automatic tunneling, and 6to4 tunneling pseudo-interfaces do not use IPv6 Neighbor Discovery.
• ipv6 ifcr v6v4 V4Src V4Dst [nd] [pmld] Makes a configured IPv6 over IPv4 tunnel interface with the specified source and destination IPv4 addresses. The nd option enables Neighbor Discovery across the tunnel so that Router Advertisement messages can be sent and received. The pmld selection enables periodic Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) messages in case the node at the end of the tunnel uses the tunnel as a nonbroadcast multiple access (NBMA) link.
• ipv6 ifcr 6over4 V4Src Creates an interface for 6over4 using the specified IPv4 source address.
• ipv6 ifc IfIndex{[forwards] | [-forwards]} {[advertises] | [-advertises]} [mtu #Bytes] [site SiteIdentifier]

  It controls interface attributes. Interfaces can be forwarding in which they forward packets whose destination address is not assigned to the interface. Interfaces can be advertising, in which they send router advertisements. These attributes can be independently controlled. An interface either sends router solicitations and receives router advertisements, or receives router solicitations and sends router advertisements. They cannot be configured to send router advertisements because the loopback and automatic tunneling pseudo-interfaces do not use Neighbor Discovery.

  The forwards can be abbreviated as forw and advertises as adv.
  
  You can set the MTU for the interface. The new MTU must be less than or equal to the link's maximum (true) MTU (as specified by ipv6 if), and greater than or equal to the minimum IPv6 MTU (1280 bytes).

  You can also change the site-identifier for an interface. Site identifiers are used in the sin6_scope_id field for site-local addresses.

• ipv6 ifd IfIndex

  It deletes an interface. The loopback and automatic tunneling pseudo-interfaces cannot be deleted.

• ipv6 adu IfIndex/Address [life ValidLifetime[/PrefLifetime]] [anycast] [unicast]

  It adds or removes a unicast or anycast address assignment on an interface. The default is unicast.
  It is infinite if lifetime is not specified. If only a valid lifetime is specified, then the preferred lifetime is equal to the valid lifetime. You can indicate either an infinite lifetime or a specific lifetime in seconds. The preferable lifetime must be less than or equal to the valid lifetime. Specifying a lifetime of zero causes the address to be removed. Lifetime can be abbreviated as life. For anycast addresses, the only valid or suitable lifetime values are zero and infinite.

• ipv6 nc [IfIndex[Address]]

  It displays the contents of the neighbor cache. Only the contents of that interface's neighbor cache are displayed if an interface number is specified. Otherwise, the contents of all of the interface's neighbor caches are displayed. If an interface is specified, you can specify an IPv6 address, displaying only the single neighbor cache entry. The interface, IPv6 address, link-layer address, and reachability state are displayed for each neighbor cache entry.

• ipv6 ncf [IfIndex [Address]]

  It removes the specified neighbor cache entries. Only neighbor cache entries without references are removed. It is recommended that you first run the ipv6 rcf command because route cache entries contain references to neighbor cache entries. Routing table entries can also contain references to neighbor cache entries.

• ipv6 rc [IfIndex [Address]]

  It displays the contents of the route cache. The route cache is the name used in the IPv6 protocol for Windows for the destination cache. If an interface and address are specified, the route cache entry used to reach the address through the interface is displayed. Otherwise, all route cache entries are displayed. For every route cache entry, the IPv6 address and the current next-hop interface and neighbor address are displayed. The preferred source address for use with this destination, the current path MTU for reaching this destination through the interface, and the specification of whether this is an interface-specific route cache entry are also displayed. Care-of address is also displayed. A destination address can have multiple route cache entries--as many as one for each outgoing interface. However, a destination address can have a maximum of one route cache entry that is not interface-specific. An interface-specific route cache entry is used only if the application specifies that outgoing interface.

• ipv6 rcf [IfIndex [Address]]

  It removes the specified route cache entries.

• ipv6 bc

  It displays the contents of the binding cache which holds bindings between home addresses and care-of addresses for mobile IPv6. The home address, the care-of address, and binding sequence number and lifetime are displayed for each binding.

• ipv6 [-v] rt

  It displays the current contents of the routing table. For every routing table entry, the route prefix, an on-link interface or a next-hop neighbor on an interface, a preference preferably a smaller value, and a lifetime in seconds is displayed. Use the -v parameter to view additional system routing table entries. Routing table entries might also have published and aging attributes. By default, they age (the lifetime counts down) and are not published. On hosts, routing table entries are normally autoconfigured from router advertisements.

• ipv6 rtu Prefix IfIndex[/Address] [life Valid[/Preferred]] [preference P] [publish] [age] [spl SitePrefixLength]

  It adds or removes a route in the routing table. The route prefix is not optional. On-link prefixes require an interface. Off-link prefixes require an interface and a next-hop address. The route can have a lifetime in seconds which is infinite by default and a preference which is preferred to be zero. Specifying a lifetime of zero causes the route to be deleted. If the route is specified as published then, by default, it does not age. The route lifetime does not count down, so it is effectively infinite. When the route is included in Router Advertisement messages, the lifetime is used. Optionally, a route can be specified as a published route that age. A non published route always ages by default. The spl parameter can be used to specify a site prefix length associated with the route. The site prefix length is used only when sending router advertisements. You can abbreviate lifetime as life, preference as pref, and publish as pub.

• ipv6 spt

  It displays the contents of the site prefix table. The prefix, the interface to which the site prefix applies, and the prefix lifetime in seconds are displayed for each site prefix. Site prefixes are normally autoconfigured from router advertisements. They are used with the getaddrinfo() function to filter out inappropriate site-local addresses.

• ipv6 spu Prefix IfIndex [life L]

  It adds, removes, or updates a prefix in the site prefix table. The prefix and interface number are not optional. The site prefix lifetime which is specified in seconds is defaults to infinite when the lifetime is not specified. Specifying a lifetime of zero causes the site prefix to be deleted.
  
  Note: This command is not required for standard configuration of hosts or routers.

• ipv6 gp

  It displays the values of the global parameters for the IPv6 protocol.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu DefaultCurHopLimit Hops

  It Sets the value of the Hop Limit field in the IPv6 header for packets sent by the node. The default value is 128. This value can be changed by Router Advertisement messages or applications. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu UseAnonymousAddresses [yes|no|always|Counter]

  It determines whether anonymous addresses are used. The default value is yes. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu MaxAnonDADAttempts Number

  It sets the number of times that an anonymous address is checked for each uniqueness. The default number of attempts is 5. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu MaxAnonLifetime Valid[/Preferred]

  It sets the valid and preferred lifetimes of anonymous addresses. The default valid lifetime is 7 days. The default preferred lifetime is 1 day. The -p option saves these settings in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu AnonRegenerateTime Time

  It sets the period of time in seconds within which to generate a new anonymous address. The default value is 5 seconds. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu MaxAnonRandomTime Time

  It sets the quantity of time in minutes for the maximum anonymous random time. The unspecified random time is the time period that elapses prior to the expiration of the valid time in which an anonymous address can generate a new anonymous address. The IPv6 protocol for Windows randomly chooses an anonymous random time between the values of AnonRandomTime and MaxAnonRandomTime. Random staggering of anonymous address regeneration is done to prevent unwanted impacts on network traffic when a large number of anonymous addresses become simultaneously invalid. The default value is 10 minutes. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu AnonRandomTime Time It sets the amount of time in seconds of the minimum anonymous random time. The default value is 0 seconds. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.
• ipv6 [-p] gpu NeighborCacheLimit Number

  It sets the maximum number of entries in the neighbor cache for each interface. The default value is 8 entries. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 [-p] gpu RouteCacheLimit Number

  It sets the maximum number of entries in the route cache for each interface. The default value is 32 entries. The -p option saves the setting in the registry.

• ipv6 ppt

  It displays the prefix policy table. The prefix policy table is used to specify the policies for source and destination address selection.

• ipv6 ppu Prefix precedence PrecedenceValue srclabel SourceLabelValue [dstlabel DestinationLabelValue]

  It updates the prefix policy table with a policy that specifies the preference, a source label value (SourceLabelValue), and a destination label value (DestinationLabelValue). Entries in the prefix policy table can modify the behavior of source and destination address selection.

• ipv6 renew [IfIndex]

  It renews the IPv6 configuration for all interfaces. If an interface index number is specified, only the configuration for that interface is renewed. For a host, autoconfigured addresses are refreshed by sending Router Solicitation messages on the appropriate interfaces. Addresses are reconfigured on the basis of received Router Advertisement messages. For a router, multicast Router Advertisement messages are sent on all appropriate interfaces.