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# Design Clinic: Small-Site IPv6 Multihoming « ipSpace.net blog

**[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Small and medium enterprises using multiple ISPs face a persistent unsolved problem with IPv6 multihoming when they lack Provider Independent (PI) address space. Despite numerous RFCs addressing host source address selection, first-hop router selection, and prefix advertisement, no widely implemented solution exists. NPT66 (Network Prefix Translation) remains the most practical workaround, though it conflicts with IPv6's end-to-end design philosophy. ULA (Unique Local Addresses) as internal addressing has its own pitfalls. The discussion explores real-world options including NPT66 toward a backup ISP, modifying host address selection policies, and vendor-specific implementation quirks such as IOS-XE 16.x limiting NPTv6 to a single external prefix globally.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://blog.ipspace.net/2023/01/dc-ipv6-small-site-multihoming>

## Questions this post answers

### How do I do IPv6 multihoming with multiple ISPs if I don't have my own Provider Independent IPv6 space?

No widely implemented clean solution exists. The most practical approach is NPT66 (Network Prefix Translation): use one ISP's delegated prefix as your internal address space and apply NPT66 toward the backup ISP. Alternatively, modify host IPv6 source address selection policy (e.g., via /etc/gai.conf on Linux or netsh on Windows) when using ULA internally. RFC 8678 acknowledges the problem remains unsolved without some form of NAT.

_Network engineers navigating multi-ISP IPv6 deployments track evolving workarounds and RFC discussions on daily.dev._

### What are the limitations of NPTv6 in Cisco IOS-XE for small site multihoming?

In IOS-XE 16.x, NPTv6 only supports translating an internal ULA prefix to a single external GUA prefix globally, making it unusable for true multi-ISP multihoming without adding dedicated hardware per circuit. The implementation may also break IPv6 traceroute. Simple reflexive ACLs are unsupported, forcing use of Zone-Based Firewall. VyOS/Vyatta reportedly offers a more flexible NPTv6 implementation.

_Engineers evaluating router platforms for IPv6 multihoming find vendor comparison threads like this on daily.dev._

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- [The Never-Ending IPv6 Loopback Prefix Saga « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/the-never-ending-ipv6-loopback-prefix-saga-ipspace-net-blog-4nlhgh10l) · ipSpace.net Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments
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