IPv6 and Dreamcast

So, with the change to IPv6 supposedly kick-starting on June 8, 2011, I thought I would test as many things as I could for IPv6 connectivity (http://www.test-ipv6.com).

But... The test does not work with my Dreamcast or Windows 3.1 box. I know Windows 3.1 can support IPv6 with Trumpet Winsock, but I was wondering: Does any browser for the DC support ipv6 (Planetweb 3, XDP, etc.)?

You browse teh webz wif ur dreamcast?!/1,

weird, any who on a serious note. I'm sure that they'll do something about it (not ipv6 since that's just inevitable).

If IPv6 is established without IPv4 backwards compatibility methods (such as proxies, large-scale NAT, and other workarounds), all IPv4 programs will permanently cease to function, including all online capabilities of the Dreamcast. BlueCrab has somewhat jokingly considered developing a proxy for the Dreamcast to allow PSO to keep working after IPv6 becomes the standard, but that day is still a ways off. Once it does come, Dreamcast proxies for BBA users will become the only way to go online. Using a modem will become impossible unless you use a DC-PC bridge, and games that don't support the BBA will be permanently mothballed as a result for people who don't use the bridging method. Of course, the people setting up the transition are trying to make the changes in such a way as to not interfere with users' programs, but the day will come when DC and GC PSO require proxies to play online, since they don't support IPv6. Prepare for BBA prices to rise again.

No commercial programs for the Dreamcast (that I know of anyway) have any support for IPv6. This includes, but is not limited to, PSO and any web browsers.

KallistiOS (the homebrew SDK) has some support for IPv6 but its fairly limited right now (of course, its IPv4 support isn't all that great without using another library to deal with it). That said, I intend to improve that situation over time (I wrote most of the network stack that KOS uses by default, both the IPv4 and IPv6 ends).

All of that said, IPv4 is most likely going to be around for a very long time. There are far too many programs out there that will not easily support IPv6. Also, companies and people are very reluctant to change. Expect to see such lovely things as large-scale NAT long before a transition to an IPv6 only internet (and LSN is a MUCH worse solution, IMO).

As Ives said, I do intend to develop an IPv6 "bridge" program for PSO at some point. This requires the server to have robust IPv6 support beforehand, so it'll be a while before that happens (especially with my lack of time lately). I intend to make sure that people can enjoy PSO for a long time.

I see.
>Everybody

Thanks for the answers; that's exactly what I wanted to know.

Felt like spamming


Any who, I suggest we all blame smartphones for stealing ipv4 (yes they have), if all smartphones didn't use ipv4 we'd have much time to even worry about ipv4 running out.

Wireless providers should have performed massive NAT to prevent their stupid telephones from stealing our addresses.

On an IPv6 and PSO related note:

sylverant r456 wrote:Happy World IPv6 Day! First order of business, make shipgate support IPv6
connections to ships.
This bumps the shipgate protocol to version 7 with the new login packet.

sylverant r457 wrote:Part 2 of World IPv6 Day related commits...
Add IPv6 support to the ship configuration. With that comes the next version of
the DTD for ship configurations:

<!DOCTYPE ships PUBLIC "-//Sylverant//DTD Ship Configuration 1.3//EN"
"http://sylverant.net/dtd/ship_config1.3/ship_config.dtd">

sylverant r458 wrote:World IPv6 Day related commits, part 3!
Support connecting to shipgate over IPv6. IPv4 is still needed for ships, since
PSO doesn't have any support for IPv6 at all, sadly.

sylverant r460 wrote:Accept login server web requests from IPv6, as long as you don't disable it
during configuration.

sylverant r462 wrote:Add IPv6 address to the main config.

sylverant r463 wrote:Add support to the patch server for doing all stuff over IPv6.

sylverant r464 wrote:Add support to the login server for doing everything over IPv6. This involves a
small extension of the PSO protocol to support redirects to IPv6 addresses (as
did the last update for patch server).

Note: PSO itself does not support IPv6 at all. An IPv6-supporting proxy is
needed to access the IPv6 stuff in login server and patch server. I've written
one of those, and it will be committed at some point in the future.

Figured it was relevant.

BlueCrab, tu es intelligent et éttonant. Keep up the good work

I'm also sure that Android and iOS will be able to switch over to ipv6 within the next few years or so, in fact, they should. No sense of using ipv4 when ipv6 is supported by their software when older things and devices can't.

hayame wrote:BlueCrab, tu es intelligent et éttonant. Keep up the good work

Thanks!

I'm also sure that Android and iOS will be able to switch over to ipv6 within the next few years or so, in fact, they should. No sense of using ipv4 when ipv6 is supported by their software when older things and devices can't.

I know that at least with the case of Android, its not that the devices themselves can't do IPv6 (I've seen my parents' phones communicating within our home network on IPv6), its that the providers don't do IPv6 over the mobile networks yet, in general. There's no need for them to "switch" at all, as its all already there. The providers just have to do their end of the work.

All this IPv6 talk and no one makes a compatible protocol for Windows [for Workgroups] 3.11.
Anyways, this is great news, BlueCrab! Thanks!

Hi,

i just updated my router (NETGEAR WNDR3700, awesome fast toy with all you need) and saw it now picks an ipv6 WAN adress from my provider. LAN still uses ipv4 but has an option (currently greyed out) to use ipv6 support in LAN.

Now i just wonder, if my DC will work on ipv6 pages as i assume it will communicate via ipv4 with my router which will then do all further communications with the ipv6-based websites without any worries.

Damn i have about no time atm to do some testing... sorry for being absent for so long.

As most actual routers will get new firmwares enabling ipv6 on them i hope this will prevent us bba users from having to use proxies/tools/hacks whatever to make it work.

Such a thing is possible, but I think that would essentially mean the router doing the conversion process would be assigning a "fake" IPv4 address to the IPv6 server, and then whenever the program you were using on your LAN tried to communicate with that "fake" IPv4 address, the router would know to manipulate the packets to redirect the connection.

Also, if that box you just got is picking an IPv6 address from your ISP, it can't be just a router. It must have a DSL/cable modem (or whatever kind of Internet access you have) in it, too.

Um... Last I heard modems didn't have IPs... At least, when I change my Router's MAC I get a new WAN address (I have a separate modem from router).
Confusion!