2.3 Testing Your Setup with 6Bone
6Bone is a logical test IPv6 network, overlaid on the IPv4 Internet.
It is an independent outgrowth of the IPv6 project, resulting from an informal collaboration between the U.S., Japan, and Europe. You can join the network and use it to test your setup.
The following diagram shows the 6Bone network.
Figure 2-4 The 6Bone Network
Globally addressable IPv6 has a three‑level hierarchy that includes the following:
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A public topology (the 48-bit external routing prefix)
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A site topology (typically a 16-bit subnet number)
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An Interface Identifier (usually an automatically generated 64-bit number unique on at least the local LAN segment)
The public topology has two or more levels of hierarchy, specifying the Top Level Aggregator (typically a high‑level ISP), Next Level Aggregators (zero or more mid-level ISPs), and a final Next Level Aggregator (which is the end user site). The end user sites get their address prefixes from an ISP that provides their IPv6 service.
To join 6Bone, you get a 48-bit IPv6 external routing prefix from an existing pTLA (pseudo-Top Level Aggregator) 6Bone ISP.
To do this, you use the registry database to identify a suitable pTLA, then contact one of the listed registry contacts through e-mail.
You’ll receive an end point address and an IPv6 format prefix, which you should enter in to the centralized registry database. You can then use the 6Bone network to test your setup for functionality and interoperability.