--- title: IPv4/IPv6 Dual-stack --- Kubernetes supports IPv4-only, IPv6-only, and dual-stack networking configurations. For more details, refer to the official [Kubernetes documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/dual-stack/). ## Installing Rancher on IPv6-Only or Dual-Stack Clusters Rancher can run on clusters using: - IPv4-only - IPv6-only - Dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6) When you install Rancher on an **IPv6-only cluster**, it can communicate externally **only over IPv6**. This means it can provision: - IPv6-only clusters - Dual-stack clusters _(IPv4-only downstream clusters are not possible in this case)_ When you install Rancher on a **dual-stack cluster**, it can communicate over both IPv4 and IPv6, and can therefore provision: - IPv4-only clusters - IPv6-only clusters - Dual-stack clusters For installation steps, see the guide: **[Installing and Upgrading Rancher](../getting-started/installation-and-upgrade/installation-and-upgrade.md)**. ### Requirement for the Rancher Server URL When provisioning IPv6-only downstream clusters, the **Rancher Server URL must be reachable over IPv6** because downstream nodes connect back to the Rancher server using IPv6. ## Provisioning IPv6-Only or Dual-Stack Clusters You can provision RKE2 and K3s **Node driver** (machine pools) or **Custom cluster** (existing hosts) clusters using IPv4-only, IPv6-only, or dual-stack networking. ### Network Configuration To enable IPv6-only or dual-stack networking, you must configure: - Cluster CIDR - Service CIDR - Stack Preference Configuration references: - [K3s Cluster Configuration Reference](cluster-configuration/rancher-server-configuration/k3s-cluster-configuration.md) - [RKE2 Cluster Configuration Reference](cluster-configuration/rancher-server-configuration/rke2-cluster-configuration.md) ### Support for Windows Kubernetes on Windows: | Feature | Support Status | |---------------------|-------------------------------| | IPv6-only clusters | Not supported | | Dual-stack clusters | Supported | | Services | Limited to a single IP family | For more information, see the [Kubernetes Documentation](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/dual-stack/#windows-support). K3s does **not** support Windows ([FAQ](https://docs.k3s.io/faq#does-k3s-support-windows)) RKE2 supports Windows, but requires using either `Calico` or `Flannel` as the CNI. Note that Windows installations of RKE2 do not support dual-stack clusters using BGP. For more details, see [RKE2 Network Options](https://docs.rke2.io/networking/basic_network_options). ### Provisioning Node Driver Clusters Rancher currently supports assigning IPv6 addresses in **node driver** clusters with: - [Amazon EC2](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher/use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider/create-an-amazon-ec2-cluster.md) - [DigitalOcean](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/launch-kubernetes-with-rancher/use-new-nodes-in-an-infra-provider/create-a-digitalocean-cluster.md) Support for additional providers will be introduced in future releases. :::note DigitalOcean Limitation Creating an **IPv6-only cluster** using the DigitalOcean node driver is currently **not supported**. For more details, please see [rancher/rancher#52523](https://github.com/rancher/rancher/issues/52523#issuecomment-3457803572). ::: #### Infrastructure Requirements Cluster nodes must meet the requirements listed in the [Node Requirements for Rancher Managed Clusters](../how-to-guides/new-user-guides/kubernetes-clusters-in-rancher-setup/node-requirements-for-rancher-managed-clusters.md). Machine pool configuration guides: - [Amazon EC2 Configuration](cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration/amazon-ec2.md) - [DigitalOcean Configuration](cluster-configuration/downstream-cluster-configuration/machine-configuration/digitalocean.md) ### Provisioning Custom Clusters To provision on your own nodes, follow the instructions in [Provision Kubernetes on Existing Nodes](cluster-configuration/rancher-server-configuration/use-existing-nodes/use-existing-nodes.md). :::note - **Node Public IP** and **Node Private IP** fields accept IPv4, IPv6, or both (comma-separated). > Example: `10.0.0.5,2001:db8::1` - In **IPv6-only** and **dual-stack** clusters, specify the node’s **IPv6 address** as the **Private IP**. ::: #### Infrastructure Requirements Infrastructure requirements are the same as above for node-driver clusters. ## Other Limitations ### GitHub.com GitHub.com does **not** support IPv6. As a result: - Any application repositories ( `ClusterRepo.catalog.cattle.io/v1` CR) hosted on GitHub.com will **not be reachable** from IPv6-only clusters. - Similarly, any **non-builtin node drivers** hosted on GitHub.com will also **not be accessible** in IPv6-only environments.