IPv6 and dual-stack networking
Allocate IPv6 prefixes and validate routes, firewalls, DNS, and guest behavior.
Dual-stack networks provide both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses to eligible interfaces. Each address family has its own allocation, routes, and firewall rules.
Enable a prefix
Open Networking → Networks → Network → Subnets → Add subnet and choose IPv6. Attach the allocation at Compute → Droplets → Droplet → Networking → Interface → Addresses.
The region must advertise IPv6 support. Add an approved IPv6 subnet to a network, then enable IPv6 on the intended interfaces. An existing IPv4 allocation remains unchanged. A custom image must support the advertised guest configuration method.
Infra validates the prefix against the region's allocation and the network's existing routes. A copied private IPv6 range is not automatically routable from the internet. The console distinguishes internal prefixes from public allocations.
Verify the whole path
Confirm that the guest has its intended address, a usable route, resolver access,
and an application listener bound to IPv6. A service listening only on 0.0.0.0
does not necessarily accept connections on the IPv6 wildcard address.
Create explicit IPv6 firewall peers. An IPv4 allow rule for port 443 does
not authorize the equivalent IPv6 path. Permit required ICMPv6 control traffic
through the supported baseline so neighbor discovery and path-MTU handling can
operate correctly.
Publish AAAA records
Use Publish a service to add an AAAA record after an IPv6 client can reach the service and complete its application transaction. Publishing both A and AAAA can cause different clients to select different paths. Test certificates, backend health, and dependency access over both families.
Removing an AAAA record does not immediately stop clients that cached it. Retain the previous IPv6 endpoint for the relevant TTL interval when making a planned withdrawal.
Egress and external dependencies
A private IPv4 egress gateway does not imply an IPv6 default route or translation service. Review the network's IPv6 route and public addressing policy separately. Applications resolving an external AAAA record can fail if that path is absent.
Avoid treating a successful IPv4 retry as proof that IPv6 is healthy. Monitor family-specific connection failures and request completion where the application supports both paths.
Disable IPv6
Withdraw public DNS references, remove dependent routes and listeners, then remove the interface allocation. An occupied subnet cannot be deleted. The guest can retain manually configured addresses after the managed allocation is removed; reconcile its local configuration explicitly.
Use Subnet API and Interface API for allocation state, DNS API for records, and subnet addressing for reservation rules.