# When will dhclient from FreeBSD base support IPv6?



## crocket (Mar 18, 2017)

Currently, I have to substitute dual-dhclient for dhclient from FreeBSD base to get DHCPv6 addresses, SLAAC addresses, and IPv4 addresses.

Amazon EC2 configures dual-dhclient in /etc/rc.conf to support IPv6.

It would be ideal for dhclient from FreeBSD base to do the job of dual-dhclient.

Is it going to happen in the foreseeable future?


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## SirDice (Mar 20, 2017)

SLAAC works without dhclient or dual-dhclient.


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## crocket (Mar 20, 2017)

I already made SLAAC work without dual-dhclient or dhclient in the past, but SLAAC breaks when the subnet prefix is not 64. If an ISP gives me only one 64 subnet prefix and I have to break it into multiple subnets, I'll have to depend on DHCPv6.
And, I think many ISPs will dispense only one 64-prefix subnet to each client. Many customers complain this on the internet. IPv6 should work even when prefix length is not 64.

Also, in some cases, DHCPv6 is necessary in stateless mode, too.

SLAAC alone is not sufficient.

I firmly believe that if FreeBSD somehow refused to implement proper DHCPv6 support, FreeBSD could lose customers and users in the near future. But, dual-dhclient is here although native DHCPv6 support would remove the hassle.

I argue that DHCPv6 is essential. Thus, dual-dhclient is essential to FreeBSD for now.


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