How to configure IPv6 virtual machines with Proxmox on Elastic Metal

Reviewed on 30 July 2024 • Published on 30 July 2024

When you install your server with a virtualization solution like Proxmox, you can create multiple virtual machines on the physical server and configure them to use flexible IPv6 addresses.

This guide covers the steps for configuring the network interfaces on different distributions inside a virtual machine on a Proxmox host using flexible IPv6 addresses on Elastic Metal servers.

Tip

The DNS cache server (nameserver) may be different depending on the physical location of your server. Refer to our network information documentation to find the IPv6 addresses to use with your machine.

Before you start

To complete the actions presented below, you must have:

A Scaleway account logged into the console
Owner status or IAM permissions allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
An Elastic Metal server with a hypervisor (Proxmox) installed on it
A flexible IPv6
A virtual MAC address

Finding your IPv6 gateway

Log into your virtual machine using SSH.

Identify your network interface:

ip a

Take note of your network interface name (e.g., ens18).

Find your IPv6 gateway:

ip -6 route

Look for the line that specifies the default route. It should look like the following:

default via fe80::xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx dev ens18 proto static metric 1024 onlink

The fe80::xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx part is your link-local IPv6 gateway address.

Ubuntu - Configuration with Netplan

Open the Netplan configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/netplan/01-netcfg.yaml

Create the network configuration:

network:
  version: 2
  renderer: networkd
  ethernets:
    ens18:
      dhcp4: false
      dhcp6: false
      accept-ra: no
      addresses:
        - FLEXIBLE_IPv4/32
        - "FLEXIBLE_IPv6/64"
      routes:
        - to: 0.0.0.0/0
          via: 62.210.0.1
          on-link: true
        - to: "::/0"
          via: "LINK_LOCAL_IPv6_GATEWAY"
          on-link: true
      nameservers:
        addresses:
          - 51.159.47.28
          - 51.159.47.26

Replace FLEXIBLE_IPv4, FLEXIBLE_IPv6, and LINK_LOCAL_IPv6_GATEWAY with your actual IP addresses.

Apply the configuration:

sudo netplan apply

Debian

Edit the network interfaces file:

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Configure the network interface:

auto ens18
iface ens18 inet static
  address FLEXIBLE_IPv4
  netmask 255.255.255.255
  gateway 62.210.0.1
iface ens18 inet6 static
  address FLEXIBLE_IPv6
  netmask 64
  gateway LINK_LOCAL_IPv6_GATEWAY

Replace FLEXIBLE_IPv4, FLEXIBLE_IPv6, and LINK_LOCAL_IPv6_GATEWAY with your actual IP addresses.

Set the DNS resolver:

sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf

Add the following lines, then save and exit the file.

nameserver 51.159.47.28
nameserver 51.159.47.26

Activate the network configuration:

sudo ifup ens18

CentOS

Edit the network script file:

sudo nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ens18

Configure the network interface:

DEVICE=ens18
BOOTPROTO=none
ONBOOT=yes
USERCTL=no
IPV6INIT=yes
PEERDNS=yes
TYPE=Ethernet
NETMASK=255.255.255.255
IPADDR=FLEXIBLE_IPv4
IPV6ADDR=FLEXIBLE_IPv6
GATEWAY=62.210.0.1
DNS1=51.159.47.28
DNS2=51.159.47.26
ARP=yes
HWADDR=virtual:mac:address

Replace FLEXIBLE_IPv4, FLEXIBLE_IPv6, and virtual:mac:address with your actual IP addresses and MAC address.

Bring up the network interface:

sudo ifup ens18

Find the IPv6 gateway:

ip -6 route

Debugging configuration issues

If your IPv6 configuration does not work as expected, follow these steps to troubleshoot:

Check the interface configuration:

ip a
ip route
ip -6 route

Run a ping test:

ping6 google.com

Check the DNS resolution:

dig google.com
dig -6 google.com

Review your network logs:

sudo journalctl -u systemd-networkd

Restart network services:

sudo systemctl restart systemd-networkd

Verify the link-local address:

ip -6 addr show dev ens18
ping6 LINK_LOCAL_IPv6_GATEWAY