--- title: "Debian & Ubuntu IPv6 Configuration (Static /64) | PowerDedi" description: "Configure an address from your routed /64 IPv6 with the fe80::1 gateway on Debian, Ubuntu, AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, test it and add more IPv6 addresses." url: "https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipv6-configuration" last_updated: "2026-09-25" publisher: "PowerDedi (https://powerdedi.com)" --- # Configure IPv6 on your server Put your routed /64 to work: pick an address, set the fe80::1 gateway, test connectivity and add more addresses. Updated September 25, 2026 · 3 min read · 9 sections ### All guides Filter the guides ### Getting started - [Get started with your dedicated server](https://powerdedi.com/docs/getting-started) ### Server management - [Use the IPMI/KVM console](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipmi-kvm-console) - [Reinstall the operating system](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reinstall-os) - [Repair your server with rescue mode](https://powerdedi.com/docs/rescue-mode) - [Monitor and repair software RAID](https://powerdedi.com/docs/software-raid) ### Networking - [Configure IPv6 on your server](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipv6-configuration) - [Test your server’s network speed](https://powerdedi.com/docs/network-speed-test) - [Set up reverse DNS (PTR records)](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reverse-dns) ### Billing - [Pay with cryptocurrency](https://powerdedi.com/docs/pay-with-crypto) ### Security - [Secure your server in the first hour](https://powerdedi.com/docs/secure-your-server) - [Create and use SSH keys](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ssh-keys) Every server includes a routed /64 IPv6 prefix. This guide shows how to configure an address from it, test connectivity and add more addresses. You need root access over SSH and your prefix, shown in the **Network** tab of your server in the client area. ## How your /64 works Your prefix, for example `2001:db8:1234:5678::/64`, is routed to your server, and every address in it is yours to use. The gateway is always `fe80::1`, a link-local address reached through your primary network interface. Addresses are configured statically. Find your interface name and check what is already set up: ```bash ip -br link ip -6 addr show scope global ip -6 route show default ``` If an address from your prefix and a default route via `fe80::1` are already listed, IPv6 works; skip to the testing section. The examples below use `enp1s0f0` as the interface: replace it with yours. ## Choose an address Any address in the prefix works. Short ones such as `2001:db8:1234:5678::2` are easy to read and to put in DNS. Assign it with the prefix length `/64`. Avoid the all-zero address, `2001:db8:1234:5678::`, which is reserved as the subnet-router anycast address. ## Debian: ifupdown Add an `inet6` stanza for the interface to `/etc/network/interfaces`, below the existing IPv4 stanza: ```text iface enp1s0f0 inet6 static address 2001:db8:1234:5678::2/64 gateway fe80::1 ``` The file takes effect at the next boot. To apply the same settings now without restarting networking, add them by hand: ```bash sudo ip -6 addr add 2001:db8:1234:5678::2/64 dev enp1s0f0 sudo ip -6 route add default via fe80::1 dev enp1s0f0 ``` On Proxmox VE, put the stanza on the `vmbr0` bridge instead of the physical interface, and apply it with `ifreload -a`. ## Ubuntu: Netplan Edit the existing YAML file in `/etc/netplan/`; its name varies. Add the IPv6 address to `addresses` and an IPv6 default route to `routes`, and leave your IPv4 lines as they are: ```yaml network: version: 2 renderer: networkd ethernets: enp1s0f0: addresses: - 203.0.113.10/32 # existing IPv4, keep yours - "2001:db8:1234:5678::2/64" # new routes: - to: default # existing IPv4 route, keep yours via: 203.0.113.1 on-link: true - to: default # new via: "fe80::1" ``` Apply it with a safety net: ```bash sudo netplan try ``` `netplan try` applies the change and rolls it back after 120 seconds unless you press Enter to confirm, so a typo can’t lock you out. ## AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux: NetworkManager Find the connection name, which is often the interface name, then add the address and the gateway to it: ```bash nmcli -f NAME,DEVICE connection show --active sudo nmcli connection modify enp1s0f0 ipv6.method manual \ ipv6.addresses 2001:db8:1234:5678::2/64 ipv6.gateway fe80::1 sudo nmcli connection up enp1s0f0 ``` NetworkManager saves the change permanently. Reactivating the connection interrupts traffic for a moment; an open SSH session normally survives it. ## FreeBSD: rc.conf Write the settings to `/etc/rc.conf` with `sysrc`, replacing `ix0` with your interface from `ifconfig`: ```bash sysrc ifconfig_ix0_ipv6="inet6 2001:db8:1234:5678::2 prefixlen 64" sysrc ipv6_defaultrouter="fe80::1%ix0" ``` They apply at the next boot, or at once with `service netif restart && service routing restart`. That command briefly drops all connections, so run it from the console. ## Test connectivity ```bash ping -6 -c 3 fe80::1%enp1s0f0 ping -6 -c 3 2606:4700:4700::1111 curl -6 https://icanhazip.com ``` The first command tests the gateway, the second a public address (Cloudflare’s DNS resolver), and the third prints the address the internet sees, which should be the one you configured. If the gateway doesn’t answer, check the interface name, and make sure your firewall allows ICMPv6: IPv6 needs it for neighbor discovery and path MTU discovery. Finally, test from another IPv6-connected machine with `ping -6 2001:db8:1234:5678::2`, and add an AAAA record for your hostname. ## Add more addresses - **Debian:** add another `iface enp1s0f0 inet6 static` stanza containing only an `address` line. ifupdown applies every stanza for the interface when it comes up. To use the address right away, also add it with `ip -6 addr add`. - **Ubuntu:** add entries to the `addresses` list, then run `sudo netplan try`. - **AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux:** run `sudo nmcli connection modify enp1s0f0 +ipv6.addresses 2001:db8:1234:5678::3/64`, then reactivate the connection. With several addresses, the kernel chooses the source address of outgoing connections. Services that must use a specific address, such as a mail server, should set it in their own configuration. ## Request a /56 A /56, which holds 256 networks of /64, is free on request. It is useful when each virtual machine bridge, container network or customer should get its own /64. Ask for it with a support ticket from your client area. [← Previous **Monitor and repair software RAID**](https://powerdedi.com/docs/software-raid) [Next → **Test your server’s network speed**](https://powerdedi.com/docs/network-speed-test) **Still stuck?** Customers with an active server open a support ticket: tell us what you tried and an engineer takes it from there, usually within a few hours. [Open a ticket](https://powerdedi.com/account/support) ## Related guides [All guides](https://powerdedi.com/docs) [Networking](https://powerdedi.com/docs/category/networking) Updated September 25, 2026 ### [Test your server’s network speed](https://powerdedi.com/docs/network-speed-test) Measure a 10 Gbps port properly: multi-stream iperf3, nearby targets, basic TCP tuning and what to send support. 4 min read [Networking](https://powerdedi.com/docs/category/networking) Updated September 25, 2026 ### [Set up reverse DNS (PTR records)](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reverse-dns) Point your IP addresses back to a hostname from the Network tab, then verify forward-confirmed reverse DNS with dig. 3 min read [Getting started](https://powerdedi.com/docs/category/getting-started) Updated September 26, 2026 ### [Get started with your dedicated server](https://powerdedi.com/docs/getting-started) From order to first SSH login: choose a server, pay in crypto, connect, then run the first-ten-minutes checklist. 4 min read --- PowerDedi — Dedicated servers with 10 Gbps unmetered, paid in crypto. 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