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IPv6 in Horizon

OpenStack offers comprehensive support for IPv6, enabling the operation of pure IPv6 or dual-stack networks (IPv4 and IPv6). This guide walks you through creating an IPv6 network using the Horizon dashboard.

Info

IPv6 is currently limited to Region 2 (ch-ge1, Geneva).

Address Configuration

Instances in an IPv6-enabled network can obtain their addresses in various ways:

  • SLAAC (Stateless Address Autoconfiguration) — VMs configure their own addresses based on Router Advertisements (RA).
  • DHCPv6-stateless — address assignment via SLAAC, supplemented by DHCPv6 for additional config (e.g. DNS).
  • DHCPv6-stateful — a DHCPv6 server assigns addresses and configuration parameters.

Warning

Our OpenStack currently supports only DHCPv6-stateless.

A /64 network from a predefined pool is assigned to you for IPv6 usage.

This guide walks through creating an IPv6 or dual-stack network in Horizon step by step.

1. Create a Network

  1. Navigate to Network > Networks.
  2. Click + Create Network.
  3. Enter a name (e.g. my-ipv6-network) and click Next.

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2. Create an IPv6 Subnet

  1. Subnet Name: Enter a name (e.g. my-ipv6-subnet).
  2. Network Address Source: Select Allocate Network Address from a Pool.
  3. IP Version: Select IPv6.
  4. Subnet Pool: Select the available tenant-subnet-pool-v6.
  5. Prefix Length: Keep the default 64.
  6. Gateway IP: Leave empty for automatic assignment.

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  1. Click the Subnet Details tab.
  2. IPv6 Address Configuration Mode: Select DHCPv6 stateless.

Warning

Address assignment currently only works with the DHCPv6 stateless setting.

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  1. Click Create.

Dual-Stack

To create a dual-stack network, add another subnet with IP Version IPv4 to the same network after this step.

3. Create a Router and Attach Subnet

  1. Navigate to Network > Routers.
  2. Click + Create Router.
  3. Enter a name (e.g. my-ipv6-router), select public under External Network, and click Create Router.

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  1. Click the router name to open its detail view.
  2. Switch to the Interfaces tab.
  3. Click + Add Interface.
  4. Select the IPv6 subnet and click Submit.

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4. Adjust Security Group

To access your VM (e.g. via SSH or ICMP/Ping), adjust the security group rules:

  1. Navigate to Network > Security Groups.
  2. Create a new security group or edit an existing one.
  3. Add the necessary Ingress rules:
    • ICMP (Ping): Rule type ALL ICMP or ICMPv6, Remote ::/0.
    • SSH: Rule type SSH, Remote ::/0.

See Security Groups for details.

5. Launch a VM

  1. Navigate to Compute > Instances and click Launch Instance.
  2. Configure your VM as usual (Name, Flavor, Image, Key Pair).
  3. In the Networking tab, add your IPv6 network.
  4. In the Security Groups tab, assign the security group.
  5. Click Launch Instance.

Your VM should receive an IPv6 address and be accessible via the internet. For the CLI approach, see IPv6 — CLI.