Thoughts on IPv6?

Does anyone know if the latest generation of Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme supports this?

Apple provides no specific information that I can find about DHCPv6-PD in their printed specifications, but things seem to work OK here. See details below.

I am assuming not because I am unable to get IPv6 addresses.

For what it's worth, my AirPort Extreme which is set up as the main router for the network has worked just fine providing IPv6 addresses for network devices here for the last 4 years or so, since Time Warner (now Spectrum) began rolling out their IPv6 service. The AirPort passes all the checks with online IPv6 "tests".

Note....I am using the Google IPv4 and IPv6 servers for DNS service, not the Spectrum DNS servers.

Should I use my Actiontec T3200 as my main router and set up one AirPort as DHCP downstream of the Actiontec to only handle the routing for everything’s else?

That would be an option if the Actiontec does provide IPv6 addresses on your network.....and you are convinced that the AirPort Extreme cannot. If you set up the Actiontec as your main router though, the AirPort Extreme would not be handling any routing functions at all......since it would be set up in Bridge Mode....(Apple calls this "Off" (Bridge Mode)".....which is the correct setting for the AirPort when there is another router "upstream" on the network.

Will the configuration pass IPv6 adddesses down the network?

Cannot say with an Actiontec router, since I do not have one here to test, but things work fine with an AirPort Extreme acting as the "main" router and other AirPorts set up in Bridge Mode. Perhaps another user who has an Actiontec router will post to help us out here.

I was also thinking about getting a Ubiquiti Security Gateway as my main router as it appears to handle IPv6. If I did this, would all the airport base station be set to bridge mode?

Correct

I do have my AirPort Extreme set up as configure automatically and Native but I am unable to get an IPv6 address. So having said this my ISP Telus must have issues with Airports. Or does it take time for addresses to be given?

Unfortunately, although I have both a Time Capsule and an Extreme, my ISP does not provide me with native IPv6 service, so I can't really test this for you. The time between the DHCPv6-PD request to getting the address should only take a few seconds ... so I'm not sure why it's not working for you.

It might be time to get a Ubiquiti Security Gateway. And slowly upgrade the Airports to Unifi APs. As the budget allows. :).

Good plan, especially since Apple is getting out of the networking hardware business. I went the Ubiquiti route and have not regretted my decision doing so. FWIW, I currently have the USG 3P, five UniFi Switch 8 POE-60W managed Ethernet switches, two UniFi AP-AC-Pro APs, and the UniFi Key Controller for my home. I keep the TC and Extreme on the network to be able to address user questions here, but for little else.

If it were me, and IPv6 were important......it is, in my opinion, since IPv4 will be phased out at some time.....I would go with the Actiontec as the main router........since it is very likely optimized to work with the ONT.

I don't know which product might be the better router, but the "better" router for you might be the one that works best for you.

Apple routers were designed (well over 5 years ago) to work with standard DSL and Cable Internet connections, so things may work with the AirPort connected directly to an ONT and they may not. There are no hard and fast rules, nor are there any "guides" to tell us what works with what and what doesn't work with what.

In other words, it seems like every installation with an AirPort connected directly to an ONT from a given provider seems to have a different issue than an AirPort connected directly to an ONT from another provider.

One thing I forgot to mention is I am using OpenDNS for both IPv4 and IPv6. Perhaps if I switched to Google, I may have better luck, or does this not really matter?

I have not tried Open DNS, so do not know if that might matter or not.

An unmanaged switch......assuming it is working.....would not cause any issues as long as the switch is located between the ONT and the AirPort......AND.....you have no other devices connected to the switch. In other words, an unmanaged switch.....assuming it is working correctly...... is transparent on the network.

But.....if you have no other devices connected to the switch......and the only devices are the ONT and the AirPOrt......then you don't even need a switch at all.

If you want to test to see if the switch might be causing issues......connect the switch between the ONT and the AirPort......but do not connect any other devices to the switch.

So, if you find that the AirPort works fine with no switch at all in the mix, and it acts up when the switch is in the mix.....then the switch may be creating some unknown issue.

All bets are off though, if you connect anything to the switch except the ONT and the AirPort. A switch always needs to be installed after the router on a network......not before the router. You can have as many switches as you want on a network.

Tesserax might have some additional thoughts on unmanaged switches.

An Ethernet switch, managed or not, works at Layer 2 of the OSI model. As such, it only cares about network device MAC addresses, not IP address ... so the IPv6 issue is not switch related. The issue is that the ONT is only expecting one device, i.e., one MAC address to be connected to it. As Bob has mentioned, if you only have the Extreme connected to the switch, then the ONT would still only see one MAC address. The problem arises when you add additional devices to this same switch.

Now this may be the issue as the switch should not be placed between the ONT and the router ... and router ... only downstream of the router.

Sorry, I cannot help on IPTV here, but perhaps Tesserax can.

My ISP requires that the router supports DHCPv6-PD. Does anyone know if the latest generation of Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme supports this?

Yes, the late 2009 or newer base stations do support DHCPv6-PD. The "correct" setting would be: Internet tab > Internet Options... > Configure IPv6: Automatically & IPv6 Mode: Native

Configured as such, the base station will use DHCPv6-PD to request that an upstream DHCPv6-PD server delegates a publicly routable IPv6 prefix to it. It will then take the prefix and act as an IPv6 router for the devices on the LAN/WLAN-side of the base station.

You will want to use this configuration if your ISP will provide you with a native IPv6 connection, and that they have a DHCPv6-PD server set up to delegate a publicly routable IPv6 prefix to your base station.

So having said this my ISP Telus must have issues with Airports.

Anything is possible, I suppose. I am assuming that you are using a simple modem......not a modem/router or gateway device.......and that the AirPort is set up in a router mode of DHCP and NAT.

If you are trying to set up the AirPort as a DHCP and NAT router......and.....the Actiontec is also set up as a DHCP and NAT router, then you have a Double NAT error on the network, which might explain the IPv6 problems.

The AirPort Extreme here is assigned an IPv6 address instantly if I restart the AirPort.

Which I am assuming it will pass through IPv6 addressing from the Actiontec?

We already answered that the AirPorts here (in Bridge Mode) pass through all IPv6 information from the main router, which is an AirPort Extreme. To know whether things will behave the same way with an Actiontec router, we'll have to wait for another to post who has an Actiontec product with AirPorts in Bridge Mode to confirm. Things "should" work, but I cannot say that they "will" work.

It might be time to get a Ubiquiti Security Gateway. And slowly upgrade the Airports to Unifi APs

That is my plan here when the AirPorts......now 4+ years old.....go another year or so.