[ISP-Related] - ARC with IPv6 only provider (DS Lite) [See Staff Post]

Is it possible to run ARC with IPv6? My Provider 1&1 (like many others in Germany) does not offer a IPv4 address anymore. It uses DS Lite.

If ARC doesn’t work with IPv6, are there plans to upgrade it to modern standards?

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Same here.
After extended fiddling with UPnP and manual port forwarding I had to give up.
Punching a hole into the firewall and exposing a port feels so 2000ish…
Especially because I read elsewhere that the exposed port is visible to port scans. It seems Roon has not implemented port knocking.

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I think so. Have you tried it?

Any news here?
Has anybody solved the problem Roon ARC/1&1/Fritz Box?

Sorry, the only solution could be, to wait for the FRITZ!Box update which enables WireGuard. It makes it possible to create a VPN over IPv6 only. Maybe it happens earlier than Roon is updating the outdated Network stuff.

Hi everyone,

My apologies for the delay in providing an official staff response to this question.

Depending on the implementation of carrier-grade network address translation, port forwarding might still work. Some networks have implemented a low-volume dynamic IPv4 address-sharing system in which ARC functions perfectly, provided that there aren’t local network issues disrupting the updated routable IP address from being communicated properly to the Core.

This unfortunately doesn’t appear to be the case with your provider, @Tekl, as you’ve already discovered 21 days ago (again, our apologies for the delay).

Many major providers in Germany have blanket IPv6 at this point for their residential-tier. While some longtime users with certain have grandfathered in their old static IPv4 external IP address, the general shortage of available IPv4 addresses has prohibited many users from even paying extra for a routable IPv4 address.

Vodafone Germany, for instance, has implemented an otherwise incredibly helpful form of dual-stack lite (DS-Lite); in their implementation, a local server can tunnel through the carrier-grade NAT, so to speak, provided that server has a static local IPv6 format address. Roon Cores don’t support IPv6 addresses at this time.

From what I can tell reading around and as you’ve already reported, 1&1 shares a similar dual stack implementation.

Here’s where Roon stands:

We’re fully aware that port forwarding is an increasingly outdated method for enabling mobile playback via a 4G or 5G device, and we recognize that a broad number of our users will ultimately hit a hard wall with the particulars of their ISP’s carrier-grade NAT, 5G routers, etc.

We’re actively researching alternative (and more up-to-date) solutions for mobile playback that will democratize access to ARC. We’re also working separately to allow for Cores to support IPv6 addresses, which would provide a solution to many users with the dual-stack implementation in your example case. I don’t have a timeline for either initiative, but rest assured we’ll be posting as soon as we do. I recommend you keep an eye on this thread in the meantime for more context, given the similarities to your situation:

There are several solutions broadly reported by Vodafone.de users we’ve aggregated in that thread that may apply to 1&1, as well.

We’ll be watching for your response, and we’ll be here to support as necessary. Thank you again for your patience.

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Thank you very much for the detailed response.

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I am also interested in a solution regarding IPv6 as my provider will switch to 5G IPv6 only. Any update on this topic and a rough timeline is highly apreciated

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Hi @Alex_Reusch,

It’s a priority and we’re dedicating resources to it at a senior level; I can say that much. I don’t have a precise timeline but the ticket is making progress through the pipeline. We’ll likely announce it to much fanfare, given the number of threads dedicated to certain ISPs with innavigable IPv6 at this point.

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Hi @connor,
Many thanks for the update! This sounds great. I have now switched my Internet Provider, in order to stick with IPv4 for a little longer. However, in parallel I still have a 5G plan active which uses IPv6. So I still could participate in testing…

ARC might work with IPv6 but I’ve not tested it. If your Core recognizes a v6 address it can bind to it. That’s the first step. I just got v6 working on a network that should allow me to test ARC native v6 and then I had to focus on a few other things. I’ll get back to it.

I also have access to T-Mobile 5G Home Internet but they block all unsolicited inbound so that quickly became a “no go”.

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