# Configuring IPv6 VPNs

The JunosE Software supports IPv6 VPNs tunneled over an MPLS IPv4 backbone. A service provider can offer IPv4 VPN services, IPv6 VPN services, or both. MPLS over IPv6 is not currently supported. MPLS base tunnels to IPv6 destinations as tunnel endpoints are not supported, so you cannot establish an MPLS IPv6 backbone.

| Note: You must configure an IPv6 interface in the parent VR for IPv6 VPNS to work.

BGP can negotiate VPNv6 capability without having to negotiate the IPv6 capability. BGP next-hop encoding varies depending on whether the backbone is IPv4 or IPv6. In the JunosE Software implementation for IPv6 VPNs, the BGP next hops in the MP-BGP update message follow the convention for BGP next-hop encoding for IPv4 backbone. If an E Series router receives a BGP next hop that follows the encoding for an MPLS-enabled IPv6 backbone, that BGP next hop is treated as unreachable because currently no MPLS base tunnel to the native IPv6 tunnel endpoint address can exist.

The PE routers have both IPv4 and IPv6 capabilities. They maintain IPv6 VRFs for their IPv6 sites and encapsulate IPv6 traffic in MPLS frames that are then sent into the MPLS core network.

Link-local scope addresses cannot be used for reachability across IPv6 VPN sites and can never be advertised by means of MP-BGP to remote PE routers. Global scope addresses are expected to be used within and across IPv6 VPN Sites.

All features previously supported for BGP/MPLS IPv4 VPNs, such as policy-based routing, redistribution to and from other protocols, aggregation, route-flap dampening, and so on are also supported for BGP/MPLS IPv6 VPNs.

address-family

- Use to configure the router or VRF to exchange IPv4 or IPv6 addresses by creating the specified address family.
- IPv4 and IPv6 addresses can be exchanged in unicast, multicast, or VPN mode.
- The default setting is to exchange IPv4 addresses in unicast mode from the default router.
- Creating an address family for a VRF automatically disables both synchronization and automatic summarization for that VRF.
- This command takes effect immediately.
- Examples
  host1:vr1(config-router)#address-family ipv4 multicast host1:vr1(config-router)#address-family ipv4 unicast host1:vr1(config-router)#address-family ipv4 unicast vrf vr2 host1:vr1(config-router)#address-family vpvn4 unicast host1:vr1(config-router)#address-family vpnv6 unicast ecmplabel host1:vr1(config-router)#address-family ipv6 multicast
- Use the no version to disable the exchange of a type of prefix.
- See address-family.