IPv6 Community Lab

BCNET, CANARIE, and Cisco have developed the IPv6 Community Lab, a network test-bed that provides real-time resources for you to gain hands-on experience.

The IPv6 Community Lab is available to all network administrator at Canadian research universities and institutions. The lab itself is a hardware platform made up of routers, switches and virtual servers that enable you to configure, test routing, applications and services on an IPv6 network. You will learn about IPv6 by taking the step-by-step assignments that walk you through the testing of various network connections.

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Access to the Lab

SSH is recommended to access the devices in the IPv6 Community Lab. Most operating systems have built in SSH clients. If you are using Windows, you can use Putty, a free SSH client. The Community Lab is protected by ACLs with lab access enabled for your reserved dates to the requested networks. Only your requested networks will have access to the lab equipment. Refer to the Topology and Addressing tab for a full description of the lab architecture.

Router Access

Use the pre-configured IPv4 addresses to login to the routers. Please do not remove the IPv4 addresses as this could result in lost management to your router. The router management addresses are listed below:

Group
Router Name
Management IPv4 Address
Host Name

1
Whitehorse
134.87.113.6
whitehorse.v6-lab.bc.net

2
Vancouver
134.87.113.10
vancouver.v6-lab.bc.net

3
Calgary
134.87.113.14
calgary.v6-lab.bc.net

4
Regina
134.87.113.18
regina.v6-lab.bc.net

5
Winnipeg
134.87.113.22
winnipeg.v6-lab.bc.net

6
Toronto
134.87.113.26
toronto.v6-lab.bc.net

7
Montreal
134.87.113.30
montreal.v6-lab.bc.net

8
Halifax
134.87.113.34
halifax.v6-lab.bc.net

You can use ssh or telnet to login into your router.

Username: v6guru
Password: v6demov

Client Access

The IPv4 addresses that are pre-configured on the client VMs are listed below:

Group
System Name
IPv4 Address
Host Name

1
Client 1
134.87.113.42
client1.v6-lab.bc.net

1
Client 2
134.87.113.50
client2.v6-lab.bc.net

2
Client 3
134.87.113.58
client3.v6-lab.bc.net

2
Client 4
134.87.113.66
client4.v6-lab.bc.net

3
Client 5
134.87.113.74
client5.v6-lab.bc.net

3
Client 6
134.87.113.82
client6.v6-lab.bc.net

4
Client 7
134.87.113.90
client7.v6-lab.bc.net

4
Client 8
134.87.113.98
client8.v6-lab.bc.net

5
Client 9
134.87.113.106
client9.v6-lab.bc.net

5
Client 10
134.87.113.114
client10.v6-lab.bc.net

6
Client 11
134.87.113.122
client11.v6-lab.bc.net

6
Client 12
134.87.113.130
client12.v6-lab.bc.net

7
Client 13
134.87.113.138
client13.v6-lab.bc.net

7
Client 14
134.87.113.146
client14.v6-lab.bc.net

8
Client 15
134.87.113.154
client15.v6-lab.bc.net

8
Client 16
134.87.113.162
client16.v6-lab.bc.net

Assignments

BCNET has developed a series of step-by-step assignments that allows you to test and configure IPv6 on the lab equipment. The equipment is designed to accommodate a maximum of eight groups of one or two users per group. Contact BCNET bcnet-ipv6-community-lab@bc.net to publish your assignment or provide feedback.

Imagine that the lab topology is your campus network and you are the network administrator. Assignments 1 - 4 will guide you through the necessary steps to create a number plan, to provision IPv6 for a local department or a campus network, and connect to the Internet. Refer to the Topology and Addressing tab for lab configuration information. These assignments are interdependent and must be done in sequentially. Group Worksheets highlight relevant information for each router group.

Assignment 1: Local Routing

Assignment 2: Campus Routing

Assignment 3: Interdomain Routing

Assignment 4: Router Security

Topology and Addressing

For information on typology and addressing, please use the button below.

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Reserve the Lab

To use the IPv6 Community Lab, check for available times and make a reservation. Please follow these steps to reserve the IPv6 Community Lab:

Email bcnet-ipv6-community-lab@bc.net and include the name of your organizations, the contact information for your primary technical and administrative contacts, and your IP range for management access.
Your primary contacts will be provided with information about how to access the lab and to coordinate lab times. You can book the lab for up to fourteen days.
Please allow three business days for lab set-up.

CANARIE Training

CANARIE’s 10-training modules are now available to download from CANARIE’s TwikiMaster. You'll have the chance to learn about:

Key IPv6 concepts, only the relevant for regional networks operational purposes
How to get address space and create an address plan how to configure, activate and troubleshoot IPv6 in the core and access networks
How to configure, activate and troubleshoot IPv6 services such as DNS, email, web and related servers
How to configure, activate and troubleshoot IPv6 in peering and transit
Key security considerations
How to troubleshoot IPv6
Key references for additional reading

Please note that only organizations whose traffic can be routed through the CANARIE Network will be granted access to the training modules. To register for the sessions, please register using the link below and specify "IPv6 Training" in the comments section. 

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