Note: A 2022 tutorial on the many aspects of IPv6 can be found in this All Things TECH IPv6 on Linux article.

Enabling IPv6

Open Software-Und-System-Entwiklung (openSUSE) Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) maintain parallel coordinated development tracks. Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in openSUSE and SLES was enabled by default beginning in version 10.1. The system setup and configuration Yet another Setup Tool (YaST) fully supported IPv6 beginning in version 10.3. While it was possible to manually edit the configuration files in versions 10.1 and 10.2 as described in this article, it was not recommended.

To enable IPv6 in openSUSE Linux version 11, see paragraph 20.4 Configuring a Network Connection with YaST in chapter 11.1 of the openSUSE Linux 11.1 Reference Guide. Reboot when done. IPv4 will continue to run.

To enable IPv6 in SLES version 11, see paragraph 22.4 Configuring a Network Connection with YaST in chapter 22.4 of the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Administration Guide. Reboot when done. IPv4 will continue to run. Also, in the absence of applicable policy or guidance about hardening SLES to guard against potential IPv6-related attacks, a guide for configuring SLES 12 and later to prevent IPv6-related attacks is provided by this article.

Disabling IPv6

To disable IPv6 in openSUSE Linux version 11, repeat the process described above to enable IPv6 in openSUSE Linux, but his time uncheck the Enable IPv6 option. Reboot when done. IPv4 will continue to run.

To disable IPv6 in SLES version 11, repeat the process described above to enable IPv6 in SLES, but his time uncheck the Enable IPv6 option. Reboot when done. IPv4 will continue to run.