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My webserver only has an IPv6 address. My provider does not offer any IPv4 addresses. I don't even get a dynamic or temporary IPv4 address.

Is it possible that some users may not be able to reach the website if it does not have an IPv4 address? I fear many people, perhaps on mobile nets for example, will not be able to reach the webserver.

Are there services that offer mapping IPv6 to IPv4 to allow everyone to go through an IPv4 address to reach my IPv6-only server? Is there a solution besides setting up a http/https proxy server at a hoster somewhere else?

ab0032
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  • IPv4 and IPv6 are completely different, incompatible protocols. There do exist some services that can translate between the two, but it is a crutch that has some problems. There is no way for an IPv6 address (128 bits) to get uniquely translated to an IPv4 address (32 bits). The current answer is to dual-stack anything that needs to run IPv6. – Ron Maupin Nov 19 '19 at 23:30
  • fyi, my isp does not support IPv6 yet even if we are near 2020. – yagmoth555 Nov 19 '19 at 23:31
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    @yagmoth555-GoFundMeMonica: "_It would be disappointing to discover that a service provider has not yet implemented IPv6 at all. That would be a huge red warning flag that the service provider is not innovative when it comes to network technology. If the provider isn’t offering IPv6 services at this stage, it calls into question its prioritization of innovation and whether it is falling behind the competition in other areas._" https://www.networkworld.com/article/3453336/why-your-providers-should-support-ipv6.html – Ron Maupin Nov 20 '19 at 05:42
  • @Ron Maupin: Regarding "It would be disappointing to discover that a service provider has not yet implemented IPv6 at all". You would be surprised! Current percentage of private customers in Denmark having an IPv6 address from their ISP? A measily 3.4%. Living in Denmark myself - so I am rather baffled... – Lasse Michael Mølgaard Nov 23 '19 at 17:12
  • It may be disappointing, but it is still a fact of life. My provider gives me only IPv6 and I have so far found no one who can access the IPv6 from their mobile and one other person has no IPv6 over their DSL at home. – ab0032 Nov 25 '19 at 15:05
  • "_I have so far found no one who can access the IPv6 from their mobile_" Well, Verizon and T-Mobile networks are IPv6 networks, and they do some conversions to let the users use IPv4, but there is really no problem using IPv6 from those networks (the mobile carriers simply cannot get enough IPv4 addresses for their customers). Apple requires all its mobile application developers to build to IPv6, and it fails the applications from the store if they do not pass the IPv6 test. The home user may actually have IPv6, but does not have the correct router setup or configured correctly. – Ron Maupin Nov 25 '19 at 19:29
  • But, no, not everyone can use IPv6 today. Google reports today that about 30% of its worldwide traffic is IPv6, but there are also many users that have access to IPv6 who have not enabled it in some way. It varies greatly by country. You can look at https://www.google.com/intl/en/ipv6/statistics.html, and there is a tab to check by country. – Ron Maupin Nov 25 '19 at 19:32

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People require an IPV6 address or something like a proxy to allow them to see an IPv6 site. IPv4 and IPV6 are different stacks, so it will be the case that users of IPv4 only stacks will not be able to reach your IPv6 only site.

With respect of an alternative to an http/https proxy server at another host, its possible a VPN provider can provide you with an IPv4 address across IPV6 only infrastructure - not sure if thats of much help.

davidgo
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Okay, apparently the answer is no, not all people have IPv6, some people still have only IPv4 and cannot access a service that is IPv6 only.

One can only hope that will change soon, but I assume it may still take years until all people have IPv6.

ab0032
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