Lab Objective
Configure IPv6 global unicast addresses on router interfaces, enable IPv6 routing, and verify connectivity between two directly connected routers.
Lab Purpose
As IPv6 adoption continues to grow, engineers must be equally comfortable configuring and verifying IPv6 as they are with IPv4. This lab reinforces that the verification workflow is conceptually identical to IPv4, while highlighting IPv6-specific details such as the automatically generated link-local address.
Lab Topology
Two routers connected via a GigabitEthernet link:
R1 ------ Gi0/0 ------------------ Gi0/0 ------ R2
2001:DB8:A:1::1/64 2001:DB8:A:1::2/64Task 1: Enable IPv6 Routing
Enable IPv6 unicast routing globally on both routers.
Task 2: Configure IPv6 Addresses
Assign the global unicast addresses shown in the topology to the Gi0/0 interface on each router, and bring the interfaces up.
Task 3: Identify the Link-Local Addresses
Without configuring anything additional, identify the link-local address automatically assigned to each router's Gi0/0 interface.
Task 4: Verify Connectivity
From R1, ping R2's global unicast address, and separately ping R2's link-local address (specifying the outgoing interface).
Solution and Verification
R1(config)# ipv6 unicast-routing
R1(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/0
R1(config-if)# ipv6 address 2001:DB8:A:1::1/64
R1(config-if)# no shutdown
R1(config-if)# exitR2(config)# ipv6 unicast-routing
R2(config)# interface gigabitethernet0/0
R2(config-if)# ipv6 address 2001:DB8:A:1::2/64
R2(config-if)# no shutdown
R2(config-if)# exitR1# show ipv6 interface brief
GigabitEthernet0/0 [up/up]
FE80::250:56FF:FEAA:1122
2001:DB8:A:1::1R1# ping 2001:DB8:A:1::2
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5)
R1# ping FE80::250:56FF:FEBB:3344%Gi0/0
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5)
-- Note the %Gi0/0 suffix (the "zone ID") is
-- required when pinging a link-local address,
-- since link-local addresses are not globally
-- unique and the router needs to know which
-- interface to send the packet out ofKey Takeaway
Every IPv6-enabled interface automatically receives a link-local address even before a global address is configured, and pinging a link-local destination always requires specifying the outgoing interface (the zone ID) since that address alone is not enough to determine the correct exit path.