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IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the next-generation IP addressing protocol designed to overcome IPv4 limitations and provide enhanced scalability, security, and performance for modern networks. Aviatrix introduces IPv6 support across its multicloud networking platform to meet enterprise and federal mandates for dual-stack deployments.
Preview in Controller 9.0. IPv6 support on the Aviatrix platform is in Preview in Controller 9.0. The controller-level Support for IPv6 toggle in Settings > Configuration > General is labeled Preview in CoPilot. Use IPv6 in non-production environments and contact Aviatrix support before enabling it on production deployments.

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Benefits of IPv6

  • Address Exhaustion: The limited address space of IPv4 is nearly depleted. IPv6 offers a much larger address pool.
  • Compliance and Mandates: Federal agencies and global enterprises require IPv6 adoption to meet regulatory and operational goals.
  • Future-Proofing: IPv6 ensures long-term scalability for cloud and hybrid environments.

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IPv6 Support in Controller 8.2

Controller 8.2 introduced the foundational IPv6 capabilities for AWS and Azure:
  • Dual-stack for AWS and Azure
  • FireNet with Palo Alto Networks for AWS
  • Network Segmentation
  • BGP over IPSec and BGP over LAN (AWS and self-managed networks)
  • Edge support for AEP and ESXi platforms

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IPv6 Support in Controller 9.0

Controller 9.0 expands the IPv6 foundation with the following additions. All Controller 9.0 IPv6 capabilities are in Preview:
  • GCP transit and spoke gateway IPv6
  • Government Cloud (AWS GovCloud and Azure Government)
  • Equinix Edge IPv6 (LAN interface for Edge Spoke; WAN interface for Edge Transit)
  • Global IPv6 route summarization
  • Unique Local Address (ULA) fd00::/8 automatic management (RFC 4193)
  • Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) for IPv6 BGP
  • BGP over LAN for Azure (parity with AWS in Controller 8.2)
  • BGP over GRE for IPv6 site-to-cloud connections
  • Fortinet and Checkpoint FireNet IPv6 support
  • IKEv2 enforced for IPv6 BGP over IPSec
  • IPv6 diagnostic tooling enhancements
The following figure shows an example of IPv6-enabled nodes that communicate over dual-stack connections:
Example: Dual-Stack Connections

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Key IPv6 Features in Aviatrix Platform

  • Dual-Stack Support: Enable both IPv4 and IPv6 on VPC/VNet, Transit, and Spoke Gateways on AWS, Azure, and GCP (GCP IPv6 Gateways in Controller 9.0).
  • Site2Cloud Connectivity: IPv6 support for BGP over IPsec (BGPoIPSec) and BGP over LAN (BGPoLAN) to secure S2C connections.
  • Edge Enablement: IPv6 connectivity for Aviatrix Edge gateways to support on-premises to cloud traffic.
  • Global IPv6 Route Summarization: Controller-wide setting that advertises summarized IPv6 routes instead of individual host prefixes, reducing route table size.
  • Unique Local Address (ULA) Support: Automatic management of fd00::/8 summary routes (RFC 4193) when IPv6 is enabled on a Gateway.
  • FireNet Integration: IPv6 traffic inspection for east-west and north-south flows in centralized firewall architectures.
  • Terraform Automation: Management of IPv6 configurations through Terraform.

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IPv6 Operational Considerations

The following sections describe the operational considerations for IPv6 in the Aviatrix platform.

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Global Configuration

Before making IPv6-related changes on the Aviatrix platform, turn On Support for IPv6 in CoPilot. The toggle is labeled Preview in Controller 9.0. To turn On the Support for IPv6 toggle:
  1. In CoPilot, go to Settings > Configuration > General.
  2. Turn On the Support for IPv6 toggle (labeled Preview).
  3. Click Save.
The IPv6-related options on the CoPilot are disabled by default.

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Enable IPv6 on Gateways

Before enabling IPv6 on gateways, ensure the VPC/VNet of the Gateway supports IPv6.

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Enable IPv6 on New Gateways

To enable IPv6 on new gateways:
  1. Turn On the Support for IPv6 toggle in CoPilot to enable global IPv6 settings.
  2. Create a new VPC/VNet that supports IPv6.
    If the VPC/VNet already supports IPv6, skip this step.
  3. Create a new Gateway on the new VPC/VNet.
  4. Ensure to turn On the Support for IPv6 toggle while creating the Gateway.
Ensure the Controller and CoPilot VPC/VNet are IPv4-only.
Refer to the following pages to enable IPv6 on new gateways:

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Enable IPv6 on Existing Gateways

To enable IPv6 on existing gateways:
  1. Turn On the Support for IPv6 toggle in CoPilot to enable global IPv6 settings.
  2. If the VPC/VNet of the Gateway does not support IPv6:
    1. Create a new VPC/VNet that supports IPv6.
    2. Create a new Gateway on the new IPv6 VPC/VNet.
      Refer to Enable IPv6 on New Gateways for more details.
  3. If the VPC/VNet of the Gateway supports IPv6, edit the Gateway and turn On the Support for IPv6 toggle.
Refer to the following pages to enable IPv6 on existing gateways:

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Routing, Diagnostics, and Visibility

IPv6-related information is available in the route tables, diagnostic tools, Topology, and Dashboard sections. See the following pages for more details:

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Limitations

  • IPv6-only mode is not supported; dual-stack deployments are required.
  • Contact Aviatrix support before enabling Edge as a Transit (EaT) with IPv6.
  • For BGP over IPsec connections with IPv6 enabled, the Controller enforces IKEv2.
    IKEv1 is not supported for IPv6 BGPoIPSec.