Skip to main content

Using IPv6 for SMB access and CIFS services

SMB clients can access files on your storage virtual machine (SVM) over an IPv6 network and can use IPv6 for CIFS service communications.

After you enable IPv6 on the cluster and properly configure data LIFs, IPv6 works immediately. You do not have to configure any settings on the SVM or enable any CIFS server options.

  • Requirements for using IPv6
    Before you can use IPv6 on your SMB/CIFS server, verify which versions of ONTAP and SMB support it and what the license requirements are.
  • Support for IPv6 with SMB access and CIFS services
    If you want to use IPv6 on your CIFS server, you need to be aware of how ONTAP supports IPv6 for SMB access and network communication for CIFS services.
  • How CIFS servers use IPv6 to connect to external servers
    To create a configuration that meets your requirements, you must be aware of how CIFS servers use IPv6 when making connections to external servers.
  • Enabling IPv6 for SMB (cluster administrators only)
    IPv6 networks are not enabled during cluster setup. A cluster administrator must enable IPv6 after cluster setup is complete to use IPv6 for SMB. When the cluster administrator enables IPv6, it is enabled for the entire cluster.
  • How to disable IPv6 for SMB
    Even though IPv6 is enabled on the cluster using a network option, you cannot disable IPv6 for SMB by using the same command. Instead, ONTAP disables IPv6 when the cluster administrator disables the last IPv6-enabled interface on the cluster. You should communicate with the cluster administrator about management of your IPv6 enabled interfaces.
  • Monitoring and displaying information about IPv6 SMB sessions
    You can monitor and display information about SMB sessions that are connected using IPv6 networks. This information is useful in determining which clients are connecting using IPv6 as well as other useful information about IPv6 SMB sessions.