IPv6 considerations in an HA pair

When enabled, IPv6 provides features such as address autoconfiguration. Using these IPv6 features requires an understanding of how these features work with the HA pair functionality.

For additional information about IPv6, see the Data ONTAP Network Management Guide for 7-Mode.

Configuration requirements for using IPv6

To use IPv6 in an HA pair , IPv6 must be enabled on both nodes. If a node that does not have IPv6 enabled attempts to take over a node using IPv6, the IPv6 addresses configured on the partner’s interfaces are lost because the takeover node does not recognize them.

Using the ifconfig command

When using the ifconfig command with IPv4, the partner's interface can be mapped to a local interface or the partner's IP address. When using IPv6, you must specify the partner interface, not an IP address.

Generation of addresses during takeover

For manually configured IPv6 addresses, during takeover, the mechanism used to configure partner's IP address remains same as in the case of IPv4.

For link-local auto-configured IPv6 addresses, during takeover, the address is auto-generated based on the partner's MAC address.

Prefix-based auto-configured addresses are also generated during takeover, based on the prefixes in router advertisements (RAs) received on the local link and on the partner's MAC address.

Duplicate Address Detection (DAD) is performed on all IPv6 partner addresses during takeover. This can potentially keep the addresses in tentative state for some amount of time.