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AlisonW

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Task done

2011-11-17 12:00:00 - by alisonw Tech Hardware Networking

A while ago I started on what has turned out to be the long process of making everything I do available via IPv6. This evening I'm as far as I can go!

My initial problem was in getting a working IPv6 connection to my servers. I purchased a Cisco 1721 via eBay, and upgraded it with extra RAM and an interface card for ADSL. That, though, turned out to be the easy part of the process.

Cisco routers like the 1721 use Cisco IOS as their operating system and though there are a number of sites online which have information about scripting the connections they aren't actually, well, 'complete'. In the end I was using guidance from New Zealand, Canada, and many other places to get some semblance of the right code to make it work.

Except it didn't.

Nothing would squeeze through my pipe, neither IPv4 nor IPv6. Eventually, one evening I decided on a 'do or die' approach (or rather 'stay awake until done, no matter how long it takes') and managed to find some useful assistance from a tech support bod at one of my ISPs who tested from his end as I was testing from mine. In the end we had that sort of breakthrough like they had when digging the channel tunnel as suddenly the floodgates opened and traffic was passing this way and that.

But the next step was getting the various DNS services I make use of to have operating AAAA records so that my newly-IPv6'able websites could be reached. In two cases this required me asking the registrars to actually support IPv6 records (and I'm still waiting on one of them). Then, once I allocated all the addresses I needed I had to go through and update the host records for all the different sites and sub-sites. Which was a few more than I had thought it was. Over a hundred, in fact. But about 30 minutes ago that task too was complete and, as far as I can tell, they are all working just fine now, whether being accessed the 'old-fashioned' IPv4 way, or via the 'new-fangled' IPv6.

And most people will have absolutely no idea that anything has changed! Ah, the joys of being a tech geek.

Onward the future!

2011-05-27 12:00:00 - by alisonw Tech Networking

We're fast approaching World IPv6 Day in June and, after a few hiccoughs, my servers now have an allocation of the IPv6 address space.

The next step – which I have been working on for the last few days – is making my router (a Cisco 1721) 'do the business'. This requires designing what is laughingly called a 'recipe' for how the box works to connect my network with the wider internet in such a way that it maintains the current IPv4 service whilst adding on the new functionality.

Hopefully I will have this working before the end of the month!

Coming in June

2011-02-06 12:00:00 - by alisonw Tech Networking

This year has already seen the exhaustion of the IPv4 address supply and the move to the future – IPv6 – really needs to get moving now.

As part of that there will be a "Global IPv6 day" on June 8th.

You can test your IPv6 connectivity here . You'll probably find you only have v4 connectivity presently, but still sensible to start checking and working towards the 'next generation'.

The tweak that broke

2010-01-21 12:00:00 - by alisonw Tech Networking

Yes, I had a little accident ;-P

With the increase in technology came an increase in what I'd like to do with that technology, specifically be able to offer secure (https://) connections for security purposes on some of the sites I host. And although there have been moves to make virtual hosting of port 443 secure sites possible, they rely on changes to browsers which – as we all know – are a bit like a brick swimming against the prevailing current.

Instead, therefore, just as with the ten year old specification of IPv6, we are required to use one IP (v4) address for each secure connection we wish to enable. So I obtained an increase in my IP allocation from a /29 (five effective addresses) to a /28 (with thirteen). Plans were made for a nice, smooth transition using proper scheduling of DNS and MX record changes when … I accidentally pulled the power on the modem-router and the change happened instantly. Without any of the advance setup.

Needless to say I was grateful for being the only person around at that moment as the world was filled with my choice 'language' about the unfortunate event, and I set to in trying to recover the systems. And, for the most part, I got the connections working again within the hour save for waiting for DNS servers around the world to play catch-up.

But e-mail wasn't arriving. My Zimbra-based mail server cold send messages out fine, but nothing seemed to be coming inbound. Eventually this was traced to a configuration error with my carrier this afternoon and they reset their end of things. Great? Well, no actually. At this end I lost all connectivity entirely. The outside world could see my router, yet I couldn't get beyond it. Three hours later the software-hardware-firmware-network interactions were finally resolved, I'm happy to say, so now everything should by A1 Bristol fashion.

That three hours without any connection was a bit scary though …

In brief …

Going V6 As it happens, my car is a V6. but I'm wanting here to mention the 'upgrading' of Internet…