IPv6 issues for wired devices with Intel ethernet

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batdan

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#270307 3-May-2020 14:52

Disclaimer - This may not be a 2Degrees / Chorus Fibre issue, but keen to hear thoughts.

For as long as I can remember I have had IPv6 issues, and have finally had some time to track down the actual issue.

Ipv6 has always worked fine on iOS and Android devices, the problem was on Windows 10 PCs and laptops (a mixture of Lenovos and a homebuilt ASUS based PC)

The symptoms were that when IPv6 was enabled, some websites would kind of work, but then time out. For example, in GMail it would log in using Chrome, but when I clicked on my labels it would just hang, and then an offline message would show. In Edge, I couldn't even login. On other sites, downloads would start, and then stop. Disabling IPv6 on the device or on the router would resolve the issue. Long term I have left IPv6 enabled on the router and just disabled on the affected devices.

From further testing I have worked out it is only an issue when connected via ethernet (all devices were Intel ethernet and a variation of the I219-V). Running Wireshark on the ethernet would show a lot of duplicate ACKS, so something possibly wasn't right.

Anyway, I finally stumbled across this that described my issue:
https://forums.intel.com/s/question/0D50P00004UK5SrSAL/help-intel-i219v-tcp-checksum-offload-ipv6-issue?language=en_US

Changing TCP Checksum Offload (IPv6) to [Disable] or [Tx Enabled] on the ethernet adapter resolves the issue.
The interesting thing is in the above Intel forum post, it links to:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27263/Disabling-TCP-IPv6-Checksum-Offload-Capability-with-Intel-1-10-GbE-Controllers

And this states:
"In some situations where a client machine is connected via some specific Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), and data is appended after the packet checksum, the network adapter can drop receive packets when using TCP-IPv6 Checksum Offload for receive traffic."

Could this be an ONT issue? Has anyone else had similar issues with wired devices? In terms of the ONT our install was in 2012. Current router is the standard 2Degress Fritzbox 7490.

Cheers,
Dan

batdan

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#2496959 2-Jun-2020 18:01

Just to close the loop on this, I got the following reply from 2Degrees:

"I have heard back from the network provider.

This is a issue that they are aware off and were before the Covid19 pandemic looking into what would need to be done to resolve the issue.

At the moment there is no time frame and no firmware update."

It surprises me that this hasn't impacted more people.

Cheers,

Sharesies kids

Free kids accounts - trade shares and funds (NZ, US) with Sharesies (affiliate link).

timmmay

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#2496966 2-Jun-2020 18:13

I had IPv6 disabled for a few years, but re-enabled it a few months ago with the Fritzbox 7390 / 7590 and have had zero problems. No idea what kind of NIC I use, but I do have one PC on standard ethernet, one on USB ethernet, and a few wireless devices.

NickMack

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#2496974 2-Jun-2020 18:39

batdan:

Just to close the loop on this, I got the following reply from 2Degrees:

"I have heard back from the network provider.

This is a issue that they are aware off and were before the Covid19 pandemic looking into what would need to be done to resolve the issue.

At the moment there is no time frame and no firmware update."

It surprises me that this hasn't impacted more people.

Cheers,

Hiya,

It surprises me more as this is news to me. Can you please PM me your account number so I can look into your case notes. I am not aware of *any* IPv6 issues on our network for our subscribers. Im the past we have hit a number of router software bugs which we worked hard to resolve, so it's possible someone is referencing incorrect/old information, or something else is going on.

Nick

https://nick.mackechnie.co.nz | NZ ISP latency monitoring - https://smokeping.thenet.gen.nz

batdan

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#2496983 2-Jun-2020 18:48

NickMack:

Hiya,

It surprises me more as this is news to me. Can you please PM me your account number so I can look into your case notes. I am not aware of *any* IPv6 issues on our network for our subscribers. Im the past we have hit a number of router software bugs which we worked hard to resolve, so it's possible someone is referencing incorrect/old information, or something else is going on.

Nick

Done. PM Sent.

richms

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#2496984 2-Jun-2020 18:57

I wouldnt have expected that the extra data would make it thru a router doing nat?

Richard rich.ms

NickMack

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#2497309 3-Jun-2020 11:56

Update - I have spoken to the team internally and followed up via an email to the Fibre Provider requesting more details/clarification/validation. Once I have more information to share, I'll do so accordingly.

Troubleshooting these types of issues can take time, equally if it is found to be a firmware issues on an ONT, a bunch of regression testing will be required before it's rolled out if this is indeed the root cause of the issue.

Nick.

https://nick.mackechnie.co.nz | NZ ISP latency monitoring - https://smokeping.thenet.gen.nz

NickMack

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#2498399 4-Jun-2020 17:16

Update - Feedback from Fibre provider: There was an issue about 3 years ago relating to IPv6, however this was resolved with a firmware upgrade across the entire network. This upgrade took place across all Gen1 and Gen2 ONTs. There are multiple RSPs running IPv6 (2degrees included) and we’ve not seen any subsequent issues relating to IPv6 since the aforementioned upgrade.

Looking at the info and links supplied, this refers to examples relating to Telus PureFibre who are a retail ISP in Canada. Telus provide retail fibre broadband services, with the ONT configured in RGW mode. The Fibre provider does not operate as a retail ISP in any way and currently do not run our ONTs in RGW mode. All production ONTs on the GPON Network are running in bridge mode and pass pure Layer2 traffic across the ONTs.

We are working with the network provider to see if something odd has popped up, however at this stage they have not seen any other issues for IPv6 for 3 years. If the investigation provides more insight, I'll share accordingly.

Nick.

https://nick.mackechnie.co.nz | NZ ISP latency monitoring - https://smokeping.thenet.gen.nz

mdf

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#2498402 4-Jun-2020 17:23

FWIW, I am having weird IPv6 issues too - different provider and for me, windows + ethernet works fine, but Android + wifi is causing issues. See this thread: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=271836

Out of curiously, any chance you are using VLANs? I've slowly been trying to troubleshoot my issues and it seems that the issue is fixed if the Android devices are on a native VLAN (for me VLAN1, eth1), but on a secondary VLAN (for me, VLAN23, eth1.23) the issues crop up.

batdan

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#2498448 4-Jun-2020 18:18

mdf:

FWIW, I am having weird IPv6 issues too - different provider and for me, windows + ethernet works fine, but Android + wifi is causing issues. See this thread: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=97&topicid=271836

Out of curiously, any chance you are using VLANs? I've slowly been trying to troubleshoot my issues and it seems that the issue is fixed if the Android devices are on a native VLAN (for me VLAN1, eth1), but on a secondary VLAN (for me, VLAN23, eth1.23) the issues crop up.

No VLANs for me. Will have a look at your thread.

Cheers

NickMack

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#2498818 5-Jun-2020 10:34

Hi @batdan, All;

Chorus have provided a list of all successful upgrades on the network since the issue was identified and resolved 3 years ago, this specific issue affected Gen 2 ONTs, the one in quesiton is Gen 1. Chorus ONT/OLT upgrade programmes happen on an annual basis (2018 was our last network-wide ONT upgrade, 2019 was our last network-wide OLT upgrade). The August 2018 ONT Rollout Project test report has a “PASS” next to the below IPv6 tests both pre and post-rollout:

Ensure IPv6 Address conflict alarms are reported from AMS
Verify update in naming of MObjects of “gponL2UserIPv6”
Verify support of new table I2UserIPv6Table in GPON LT”
Verify IPv6 user creation on DSL and Ethernet Port
Verify Creation/Modification/Deletion/Copy operation for IPv6 Filter in AMS
Verify IPv6 and Multicast support in virtual router for IES and VPRN service
Verify IPv6 interface and address configuration
Verify SPFE Provisioned service is configured to allow bidirectional traffic to pass through test port
Verify SPFE Provisioned service is configured to allow bidirectional traffic to pass through uplink port
Verify support of IPv6 DHCPv6 Relay agent
Verify PPPoE IPv6 server and bind PPPoE IPv6 client

Chorus haven’t had any other reports of IPv6 issues from ISP’s since the upgrade 3 years ago. If an ONT is offline for whatever reason, their toolsets continue to poll and collect any missed units and update accordingly when they are online.

@bmarquis - Any further comments?

I’m not sure how you are upgrading your Network drivers (Windows update doesn’t have the most up to date drivers typically), so manually installing from the Intel website will ensure you get the latest - https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/82186/Intel-Ethernet-Connection-I219-V. – Caution, please make sure you install the correct drivers, if you need help on this, please seek advice from a professional.

I’m not sure how easy it is to replicate your issue from your perspective, Something else to consider is creating a bootable Linux USB – See Section 5 - https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=2A56954C01A1CAA0&id=2A56954C01A1CAA0%211379703&parId=2A56954C01A1CAA0%211374929&o=OneUp and testing/validating if issue is also there on a Linux desktop (eliminating either the Intel Driver or OS).

Nick.

https://nick.mackechnie.co.nz | NZ ISP latency monitoring - https://smokeping.thenet.gen.nz

BMarquis

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#2498836 5-Jun-2020 10:53

This has come across my desk now too.

I can confirm we don't have any known IPv6 related issues, we do have many RSPs using IPv6 successfully - including the ONT type on this connection.

The kind of people who care about IPv6, are the kinds of people that tell us when they have problems. :) Its all very quiet at the moment.

The list of tests provided my Nick also include a bunch of tests which confirm the OLT and ONT are operating correctly, even for service configurations we don't currently use in the access network (e.g IES and VPRN)

I'll keep across any progressions with this issue, but ultimately, your contact point should be 2Degrees.

Cheers,
Brent

NickMack

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#2501165 9-Jun-2020 09:20

Update - Closing this one out from the 2d side - @batdan and I caught up yesterday, He has successfully tested on Linux and is unable to replicate the issue, eliminating the hardware, so we both suspect it's a driver related issue under Windows 10. He has a few things to try and will report back on this thread with his findings.

Nick.

https://nick.mackechnie.co.nz | NZ ISP latency monitoring - https://smokeping.thenet.gen.nz