If you are looking for my IPv6 Reference repository - look here: https://github.com/amwalding/ipv6-ref

IPv6 Extension Header PCAPs

For those who know networking, there are very few opportunities to get your hands on packet capture (pcaps) that have IPv6 Extension Headers. There are a number of reasons for this, and one is that extension headers in IPv6 have always been a security vulnerability. So many service providers do not support transport of IPv6 packets with extension headers.

• Initial Tests in 2014 were recorded in RFC 7872 https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7872
• Geoff Huston has set up a worldwide testing client/server system that tests this worldwide: https://stats.labs.apnic.net/v6frag

What are IPv6 Extension Headers?

• Extension headers fit between the IPv6 header and the Layer 4 headers (UDP or TCP)
• Note: IPv4 supports this capability, but has never been utilized
• IPv6 header is fixed to 40 bytes, so extensions allow features to be added beyond this limit
• Extension Headers are part of the Payload
• Primarily end-to-end – not processed by intermediate nodes
• Extension Headers are designed to make IPv6 extensible to add features we may not even contemplate today.

Are Extension Headers Supported in Limited Domains?

• Limited Domains are domains that are
  • Managed by a single entity – think a company, a university, perhaps a provider
  • A network that is firewalled off the larger network
• Enterprise Networks (generally) have been hesitant to deploy IPv6
  • Security issues (privacy of extension headers), other “gaps”
  • Can extension headers support segment routing, OAM, other features?
  • Enterprises need to understand the exact use cases
• Some Universities report free flow of Extension Headers inside their networks, but policing at the network edges
• Possible use cases:
  • Some kind of Traffic Engineering
  • Using IPv6 as an underlay network?

I searched and searched and could not find a good source of IPv6 extension header samples. So I have created this repository to try to provide some for researchers/engineers.

Here are a collection of IPv6 Extension Header packet captures for those interested in what they look like in Wireshark.

That said, if you are a researcher like me I hope this little repository helps. You may also want to grab my IPv6 Wireshark Profiles from that repository.

If you want to contribute - please let me know.

You can find more Wireshark related stuff here in Github (like my profiles repository) and here: https://www.cellstream.com/tag/wireshark/ - at my web site. Also, feel free to browse our other IPv6 related articles and information here: https://www.cellstream.com/tag/ipv6/

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