IPv6 support on Virgin media

What I don't get (other than no invite, they don't send me invites to do test any longer lol).. But what I don't get is why they are going to test DS-Lite.  If it's to do with their wifi anywhere type of system then I think it's great, It just means that now your ipv4 address can follow your devices around right?

The reason I don't get it is that they have (or did have?) a lot more IP's than what they need for their current user base, so why add in any form of NAT when it's not currently needed.  And if everyone moves to DS-Lite then that means all home hosting is going to stop on the IPv4 layer.  

It seems like they went from one extreme to the other extreme.  So does this mean Full Dual-Stack is off the table for the test, or off the table for good?  Another thing I would be interested in is IF they move to a DS-Lite system would users be able to only use the IPv6 component of this, or will it be a requirement to use the IPV4 in IPV6 wrap.

Regardless of how they decide to deploy it.  It's about time they actually started doing something.

I recently had an engineer visit to improve cabl signal levels and took the opportunity to ask if he had any knowledge of an IPv6 rollout schedule.

He had none, but promised to get back to me with an answer. This, he did within a few days.

He reported that the initial focus is on upgrading business connections and that he had been unable to identify a schedule for starting residential upgrades.

Disappointing, but could it be that the observed growth fits this story?

Hi Everyone

Trying to get IPv6, HE tunnel looks like capped by VM on 20Mbit/s, any other way to get IPv6 working?

after switching to M200, still the same issue, download is shaped at 20Mbit/s using HE.

Why even mention the shortage of IPv4???!!! 1 public IP per customer is not enough in the current world, and things like Nest Protect are not working without IPv6, there are a lot of tools and devices I want to have public IP, and the number of technology requires IPv6 is growing.

Let's have a few facts established:

1.  modern technology requires IPv6, no IoT without IPv6
2.  if you do not have a shortage of IPv4, then the best way to move to IPv6 is DualStack

Anything VM is doing with IPv6 doesn't make any sense, from choosing DSLite to capping IPv6 tunnels. They are just looking incompetent, 6in4 in their view is single-threaded or "like VPN".

Yea, I agree, If their user base was to climb fast enough to go past their IPv4 limit then they would be forced to introduce that NAT layer.  So adopting it now is probably a good move as that limit being hit would be virtually transparent.  Still, it should be possible when we do get CG-Nat for us all to have our own IP, similar to now, until such a time that they run out of v4's to hand out.

As for content providers.  They have no huge incentive to move over to IPv6.  They know users will have v4 - even if it's NAT v4 so why spend time time and effort rolling out their own DS solutions.  I believe a lot of the providers don't want to move to IPv6 because of security/blocking issues.  Right now it's easy to block an IP range/single address.  That's going to become quite difficult with v6 as you'll need to kill huge blocks.

The biggest benefit is User to User hosting.  Something that Content providers, Broadband providers, and most of the monetized industry out there cant benefit from.  I have no doubt that User-Tracking/Ad services are also pushing back against IPv6.  Creative IP changes could see that industry get stung.

I look forward to NAT going away.  But it's difficult when no one wishes to lay the egg, or hatch it.

I really hope the DS Lite approach is scrapped and the delay is because they are going dual stack like BT and Sky with a routed /56 or similar. Clearly Virgin Media are in no rush, so I'd rather the delay be for a better IPv6 implementation.

No one wants DS Lite. Its unecessarily less friendly and complicated, makes running your own kit harder, without having modem mode you have to deal with extra network setup and you'll no longer be able to forward ports for IPv4.

Hopefully the trial gave indications that they would need to give a lot of customer support.

Staff cost are something they seem to hate paying (Going by the complaints over the past few months about long wait times to even speak to someone I can only imagine whole departments are being exited?). 

So if it looks like it will need a lot of customer support, they will look for another option. (My personal view)

You need to try and convince Ofcom and the ASA that VM's lack of IPv6 is such a dreadful national scandal, then perhaps something might change.

Taken from the other forum, their current view is:

"The ASA rejected that complaint on the basis that: Most consumers wouldn't consider IPv6 as part of their purchase decision, therefore it won't affect what ISP they go with. 

OFCOM have rejected it on the basis that IPv6 is entirely optional in the UK and they regard IPv4 as sufficient."

If you want IPv6 support on Virgin Media sooner (rather than who-knows-when later), you may need to take matters into your own hands. 

I haven't had a chance to read all 100+ pages of this topic so this info may not be new, but that's what i did this weekend.  I have Virgin Media Fibre 100M Broadband (started with 50M a few years ago, that is a story in and of itself). 

The results:

(NTL listed above is the old name before Virgin Media rebranded)

Ok of course this is not an admission that Virgin Media lack of IPv6 is excusable by any means.  Just that if you want something enough, sometimes you have to do it yourself.

My setup is basically the original Hub3 Virgin Media router/modem, however i also set up a linux host on my home network running pi-hole, that provides ad-blocked DNS services for my entire home LAN.  So on that system, I simply utilized the free Hurricane Electric tunnelbroker offering, which sets up for you (on their side) a tunnel to the IPv6 based internet over your IPv4 network.  They also provide instructions for the setup on your side and it was more straightforward than i imagined.

And voila, IPv6 on Virgin Media..  If folks are interested in the gory technical steps, I can set up a separate post.

You can also of course go the simpler route and set up IPv6 connectivity on an individual host basis more easily (H.E gives you up 5 tunnels per account) if you don't need your entire LAN with IPv6 connectivity.