IPv6 support on Virgin media

[dgcarter]

Does anyone know whether (and if so when) Virgin plan to implement IPv6 on its network?

[ChrisJenkins]

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@TonyJr wrote:

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@ChrisJenkins wrote:

So finally, for unrelated reasons, VM Business replaced my old Hitron router with one of the new GigaBit capable Chita units. Surprise, surprise (not), my HE 6in4 tunnel now consistently gives close to IPv4 speeds (I am on 500 Mbit service, not GigaBit [yet])

So, at least in my case, the problem was most definitely the old generation VM hardware (SuperHub 3 and Hitron).

I am, for now, a (relatively) happy bunny.

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Excellent. Does the Chita unit still have the ability to do the GRE tunnel for static IPs?

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I'd be amazed if it doesn't since they are (still) a standard 'optional' feature of the VM business package. But I use mine exclusively in 'modem mode' so I'm afraid I can't confirm that for sure.

[ChrisJenkins]

10 weeks along and still getting close to IPv4 speeds over my HE IPv6 tunnel. So I think it is safe to say that the new Chita unit has fixed this issue. Shame it took them so long...

[jamesmacwhite]

To be honest, I don't think they really intended to fix the issue with 6in4. Based on the evidence and what we now know, the hardware they had been using for their CPEs was unable to route 6in4 packets fast enough or was given low priority with CPU processing to be noticeably slow and bottlenecked but with their gigabit capable hardware, it has just nicely coincided with needing more powerful CPUs to route at gigabit speeds that 6in4 packets are no longer impacted or it is much less visible, but glad it seems to be resolved, for Hub4, Hub5 and the Chita unit for VM Business.

Now where's that native IPv6 at VM?! Oh yeah hiding away in Router Advertisements teasing us.

[legacy1]

I'm sure VM could go IPv6 sooner if we give up modem mode which we don't want to happen but if VM can do real DMZ with NAT allowing the WAN IP to a given device then it might happen sooner.

[jamesmacwhite]

Pretty sure they abandoned DS-Lite, otherwise they would have launched it on the live network by now, given that trial was mid 2018 and potentially going to happen in 2019 and then never happened. A canned statement more recently hinted they might have been testing multiple IPv6 deployments since the DS-Lite test and I'd hope they don't do anything CGNAT related.

If BT and Sky can dual stack, then Virgin Media (once boasting it had plenty of IPv4 space back in the day) can do it as well. I believe VM Ireland remains on the DS-Lite configuration today, but this was an inherited network from UPC.

[andrewducker]

I do wonder if they're holding off as part of their move to fibre.

[jamesmacwhite]

You mean the move from all areas being moved from HFC to FTTP? Doubt it (or I'd hope not), that wouldn't be completed for another 6 years (We'd be pushing closer to 20 years of no IPv6 by then!), that is set to be completed by 2028. IPv6 shouldn't have any major ties to the broadband infrastructure going into homes regardless if it's HFC or FTTP.

Whether or not the Hub you have could have a impact on it i.e. firmware requirement could be something though. The Hub3 I believe is still the standard provided CPE, unless using gigabit services or being offered it based on your area and utilisation. Pretty sure the Hub3 still has the DS-Lite settings hidden last time I checked the JavaScript files, I haven't got or had the chance to look at the Hub4/5 and see if there's any different IPv6 code lurking.

[VMCopperUser]

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@andrewducker wrote:

I do wonder if they're holding off as part of their move to fibre.

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In VM world, they are just holding off to avoid adding cost.

[legacy1]

Lets reset the clock for another 10 years then...

[IllLustration]

This thread is epic. Kept me warm during the cold winter months, while I was on A&A where I had native v6. Finally yielded to temptation (and speeds) and came back to VM because I was sick and tired of being stuck in the slow lane on 80/20 FTTC and VM were the only other option. My dad's place isn't too far from here and I get nearly double that on LTE when I'm visiting. It was too much.

But I do miss IPv6. That peer-to-peer-ness is painfully absent at first blush on v4. I'm looking into Zerotier and Tailscale as ways of trying to restore it, but it's not IPv6, of course. I'm not too keen on the idea of using HE tunnels because of the effects they have on geolocation detection.

I'm not sure I'd cry over the loss of a public v4 address if DS-lite were deployed; we probably ought to be prepared for the arrival of CG-NAT anyway. Yes, it means you need a VPS to let in v4 traffic on a public port--not ideal, but possible, especially with tools like FRP. And Tailscale/Zerotier are well-suited for CG-NAT situations as they reach out to do the mesh VPN/UDP hole-punch thing. I'm more bothered that I have the Hub4, and so can't actually benefit from all my downstream bandwidth in modem mode.

Here's to hoping for progress--any progress at all--on IPv6 on VM!