IPv6Only Option?

What is the current status of support for IPv6 only nodes, specifically IPv6-only bridges? Can they form part of the Tor network yet?

I have two IPv6-only servers with NAT64 to access the IPv4 web, but no static IPv4 address. I’m interested in utilizing these servers as bridges, even if the usage will be limited, but I’m uncertain of whether BridgeDB would accept such IPv6 only bridges for distribution.

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As of right now, all bridges and relays must have an IPv4 address, Tor Project | Relay requirements

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Hey @Gray, how often does your IPv4 change?

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In Europe, a lot of connections use DSLite for addressing (this is my current situation) so while we could probably provide a bridge, it would only be available over IPv6. So it’s not so much that our IP addresses change often, just that we can’t accept any incoming connections for IPv4

In Germany most providers will give you a DualStack connection, if you ask the support for it. At least that’s my experience with Telekom, Vodafone and HTP. Just don’t say you need it for a vpn. Then they will tell you to go to your vpn provider and make him support ipv6…

This is also the case with me. Besides the relays I already have, I could also use 95% of my bandwidth at home for more useful things than idle.
However, I am not interested in the topic because of bridges, but exits.

I realize that if you allow IPv6 only, this will certainly cause a huge change in the protocol itself.
On the other hand, we are now in 2022, IPv6 is established everywhere and usually preferred.

It would be great if the step were taken soon. In my opinion, it is inevitable.

One more note on the side. In my industry, there are already some ISPs that sell servers that would be perfect for the Tor network. Not throttled and unlimited traffic. Cheap to have. Disadvantage, just an IPv4 costs 5-10 Euro extra. That is sometimes more than the server costs. Otherwise they deliver their servers only with IPv6. This applies mostly to newcomers, of course. They can’t afford the prices on the IPv4 market. But they have no problems with their customers. Because web server, e-mail etc. is no problem without IPv4 nowadays.

This has been discussed at the last two monthly tor operator meetups and while everyone agrees that it has to be that way sooner rather than later, it requires quite a bit of development and is not planned to be here any time soon (at least not in the next 18 months).

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