Google over IPv6

Access Google services over IPv6

At Google, we believe that IPv6 is essential to the continued health and openness of the Internet – and that by allowing all devices on a network to talk to each other directly, IPv6 will enable innovation and allow the Internet's continued growth. Typical Google users do not need to do anything to prepare for IPv6, but we are working with network operators to support the transition.

In March 2008, we began offering Google search over IPv6 on IPv6-only websites like ipv6.google.com (IPv6 connection required), but other Google products were not generally available over IPv6.

That's why we created Google over IPv6. If you operate a network that supports IPv6, we may be able to enable Google over IPv6, letting you give users seamless access to most Google services over IPv6 simply by going to the same websites they usually use, such as www.google.com.

How it works

Google over IPv6 uses the IPv4 address of your DNS resolver to determine whether a network is IPv6-capable. If you enable Google over IPv6 for your resolver, IPv6 users of that resolver will receive AAAA records for IPv6-enabled Google services.

Normally, if a DNS resolver requests an IPv6 address for a Google web site, it will not receive one… …but a DNS resolver with Google over IPv6 will receive an IPv6 address, and its users will be able to connect to Google web sites using IPv6.

How to get started using Google over IPv6

To qualify for Google over IPv6, your network must meet a number of requirements. These include:

• Low latency, redundant paths to Google using direct peering or reliable transit


• Production-quality IPv6 support and reliability


• Separate DNS servers for your IPv6 users (not shared with IPv4-only users)


• Users who have opted in to IPv6 services and know how to opt out if they experience problems with Google services

If your network meets these requirements and you'd like to receive Google over IPv6, please see our FAQ for how to request access.
Source: Google

IPv6 - Internet Protocol Version 6

Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a version of the Internet Protocol that is designed to succeed Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). IPv4 was the first publicly used Internet Protocol and has been in operation since 1981.

IPv6 is an Internet Layer protocol for packet-switched internetworking and provides an end-to-end datagram delivery service. The main driving force for the redesign of Internet Protocol was the foreseeable IPv4 address exhaustion. IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and is described in Internet standard document RFC 2460, published in December 1998.

IPv6 uses a 128-bit address, whereas IPv4 uses only 32 bits (2^32 addresses). The new address space supports 2^128 (about 3.4×10^38) addresses. This expansion provides considerable flexibility in allocating addresses and routing traffic. It also eliminates the primary need for network address translation (NAT), which gained widespread deployment as an effort to alleviate IPv4 address exhaustion.
Source: Wikipedia