VMware Products IPv6 Supportability Overview
I’ve been asked by one of my customer about the IPv6 supportability of VMware products and requirements for this configuration. So, I prepared the below document that includes all VMware products with limitations and necessary documentation links.
Disclaimer
This document is intended to provide general guidance for organizations that are considering the supportability of VMware by Broadcom solutions. The information contained in this document is for informational purposes only, and it could be changed in the future.
VCF
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- Requires redeployment for IPv6-only setup.
- Ensure IPv6 compatibility across all components before deployment; IPv6-only setup requires comprehensive testing to validate end-to-end connectivity.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Foundation/index.html
- https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2024/07/24/vcf-networking-5-2/
SDDC Manager
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- IPv6 for management traffic is limited to management operations. Limited support for IPv6-only configurations.
- Configure IPv6 for management operations; ensure network readiness for dual-stack in complex setups with multiple services to avoid connectivity issues.
Documentation Links
vCenter Server
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- Dual-stack supported, but IPv6-only requires redeployment.
Documentation Links
ESXi 8.x
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- Requires dual-stack setup, with IPv6 for management traffic, vmkernel adapters must be carefully configured for specific networks.
- On an IPv4 deployment of vSphere 6.5 that consists of an installed or upgraded vCenter Server and upgraded ESXi, configure ESXi and vCenter Server for pure IPv6 management connection by enabling IPv6 on the deployed nodes and reconnecting them.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/index.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsphere-networking/GUID-6BC115DF-4EC5-409E-8B74-45525E966F0F.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsphere-networking/GUID-D4E1B89E-D1FF-4BC3-AACB-7CE1DEE52242.html
vSAN
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- Dual-stack supported for both storage and management traffic. Full IPv6-only may require redeployment, and careful planning is needed for management interface compatibility.
- vSAN 6.6 supports IPv6 with unicast communications.
- vSAN supports the following IP versions.
- IPv4
- IPv6 (vSAN 6.2 and later)
- Mixed IPv4/IPv6 (vSAN 6.2 and later)
- IPv6 multicast is also supported.
- IPv4 and IPv6 – vSAN iSCSI network supports both IPv4 and IPv6.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSAN/index.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vsan-planning.doc/GUID-AFF133BC-F4B6-4753-815F-20D3D752D898.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsan-803-network-design-guide.pdf
NSX-T
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| No | Yes | Yes |
Limitations
- Supports full IPv6, including IPv6-only for overlay networks. Ensure all physical networks are IPv6 capable. IPv6 is supported on NSX on-demand networks.
- For overlay networks, validate end-to-end IPv6 connectivity with NSX Edge nodes and IPv6-compatible routers; apply IPv6 policies cautiously.
- IPv6-only access for management plane scale – NSX 4.2.0 introduces support for IPv6-only NSX Managers and Edge Nodes.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX/4.2/installation/GUID-E278C75D-02E8-4471-A086-1334D43D7B55.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX/4.2/installation/GUID-2A4DD753-81FF-4B65-A253-E826F5B6E07E.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX/index.html
Aria Operations
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| No | Yes | Yes |
Limitations
- Must configure during deployment; switching to IPv6 after deployment requires redeployment.
- All nodes in the cluster must follow the same protocol.
- For endpoint communications, you can use IPv4 or IPv6.
- If the environment only supports the IPv6 protocol, the Prefer IPv6flag must be activated during the OVF deployment for each node.
- DNS server must be configured to support IPv6.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Operations/index.html
- https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/aria/aria-operations/8-18/getting-started-with-vmware-aria-operations-8-18/preparing-for-installation/requirements/ipv6-requirements.html
Aria Automation
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- IPv6 must be enabled during deployment.
- Mixed IPv4/IPv6 environments may require manual adjustments.
- VMware Aria Automation networks support single stack IPv4, single stack IPV6, or dual stack IPv4 and IPv6.
- IPv6 is supported for existing vSphere networks and existing NSX networks.
- IPv6 is not supported for load balancers, NSX on-demand networks, or external third-party IPAM providers such as Infoblox.
- You can assign an IPv6 address space to single and dual stacked workloads when an IPv6 address is requested per integration with an external IPAM system. This capability requires that the integrated external IPAM plug-in also supports IPv6.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Automation/index.html
- https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/aria/aria-automation/8-18/assembler-on-prem-using-and-managing-master-map-8-18/maphead-build-resource-infrastructure/profiles-how-to-add-network-profiles/learn-more-networks.html
Aria Operations for Logs
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| No | Yes | No |
Limitations
- Dual-stack support for log management, requires dual-stack environment for full functionality.
- Confirm IPv6 compatibility with log sources; dual-stack preferred to ensure comprehensive data collection.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Operations-for-Logs/index.html
- https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/aria/aria-operations-for-logs/8-18/getting-started-with-aria-operations-for-logs-8-18/c-installing-log-insight/deploy-the-log-insight-vapp.html
Aria Operations for Networks
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| No | Yes | Yes |
Limitations
- Not certified for IPv6 or dual-stack collector, upgrade, support tunnel, or webhooks.
- Changing IP family between IPv4 and IPv6 is not supported.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Operations-for-Networks/index.html
- https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/aria/aria-operations-for-networks/6-14/vrealize-network-insight-ug-4-1-and-later-6-14/troubleshooting-and-know-limitations/known-limitations.html
AVI Load Balancer
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
Limitations
- Supports IPv6 load balancing, both dual-stack and IPv6-only configurations are supported.
- Configure IPv6 load balancing based on client requirements; verify backend server compatibility with IPv6 configurations.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-NSX-Advanced-Load-Balancer/index.html
- https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-security-load-balancing/avi-load-balancer/avi-load-balancer/22-1/vmware-avi-load-balancer-configuration-guide/security/ipv6-support-in-nsx-advanced-load-balancer.html
vCloud Director
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- Supports IPv6 load balancing, both dual-stack and IPv6-only configurations are supported.
- IPv6-only deployment is complex and may require redeployment.
- Ensure IPv6 compatibility for all linked services; dual-stack preferred to prevent interruptions in IPv4-based integrations.
- vApps support IPv6 connectivity. You can assign IPv6 addresses to virtual machines connected to IPv6 networks.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-Director/index.html
- https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/319147/vmware-cloud-director-nsx-feature-suppor.html
HCX
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | Yes |
Limitations
- IPv6 needs careful configuration, especially for WAN optimization services and inter-cloud connections.
- Test WAN performance with IPv6-enabled peers; ensure inter-cloud compatibility with IPv6 if deploying across different environments.
Documentation Links
SRM
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- SRM 8.5 and later versions support dual-stack.
- IPv6 for recovery jobs is supported but may require validation in IPv6-only environments.
- Validate recovery operations with IPv6; IPv4 failback paths may not be fully compatible in IPv6-only configurations.
- If you configure Site Recovery Manager in an IPv6 network, verify that the IPv6 address of the Site Recovery Manager Server, vCenter Server, the ESXi hosts, and the external database
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/index.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/Site-Recovery-Manager/9.0/srm-installation-and-configuration/GUID-BB0C03E4-72BE-4C74-96C3-97AC6911B6B8.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Site-Recovery/services/srmaas-install-config.pdf
vSphere Replication
| IPv4 Only | Dual-Stack | IPv6 Only |
| Yes | Yes | No |
Limitations
- vSphere Replication can be deployed with either IPv4 or IPv6 address. Mixing IP addresses, for example having a single appliance with an IPv4 and an IPv6 address, is not supported.
- vSphere Replication supports dual-stack for replication jobs.
- When operating with an IPv6 address, vSphere Replication requires that all components in the environment, such as vCenter Server and ESXi hosts are accessible using the IPv6 address.
- Full IPv6-only requires careful network planning.
- Configure replication traffic paths with dual-stack
- Ensure connectivity between replication sites for seamless operations in IPv6-enabled environments.
Documentation Links
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/vSphere-Replication/index.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/vSphere-Replication/9.0/administration-guide/GUID-6F4E1F93-C901-4D51-835F-43D93E5D154B.html
- https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Site-Recovery/services/com.vmware.srmaas.install_config.doc/GUID-D24D46A9-7462-4819-A48F-8698B235134B.html
