Description

In Junos 15.1X49-D70, the default behavior of the IPv6 forwarding mode is changed from ' drop'  to ' flow based'  on the following SRX models:

  • SRX1500
  • SRX4100 / 4200,
  • SRX5400 / 5600 / 5800
  • vSRX

Symptoms

In Junos 9.6 or later​ (but before 15.1X49-D70 ), the default IPv6 forwarding mode is ' drop .'

root@vsrx> show security flow status

Flow forwarding mode:
Inet forwarding mode: flow based
Inet6 forwarding mode: drop  <---
MPLS forwarding mode: drop
ISO forwarding mode: drop
Flow trace status
Flow tracing status: off
Flow session distribution
Distribution mode: RR-based
GTP-U distribution: Disabled
Flow ipsec performance acceleration: off
Flow packet ordering
Ordering mode: Hardware

In order to enable the use of IPv6 and change the forwarding mode to " flow based " the following command is used, followed by a reboot. Refer to  KB25697- How to enable the IPv6 flow (or packet) mode on SRX​ [juniper.net]

set security forwarding-options family inet6 mode flow-based​

However, starting with Junps  15.1X49-D70 , IPv6 forwarding mode is set to " flow based " , by default. It can be checked using the command " show security flow status " .

root@vsrx> show security flow status

Flow forwarding mode:
Inet forwarding mode: flow based
Inet6 forwarding mode: flow based <---
MPLS forwarding mode: drop
ISO forwarding mode: drop
Flow trace status
Flow tracing status: off
Flow session distribution
Distribution mode: RR-based
GTP-U distribution: Disabled
Flow ipsec performance acceleration: off
Flow packet ordering
Ordering mode: Hardware

In order to disable IPv6 and change the forwarding mode to " drop " use the following command:

set security forwarding-options family inet6 mode drop​

Solution

This change in default behavior also enables the device to work without any requirement of a reboot when switching between the different flow modes for IPv6, namely  packet based, flow based,  and  drop

For IPv4, the default mode on SRX1500, SRX 4100/4200, SRX 5400/5600/5800, and vSRX will remain as " flow based ". A reboot is not required to change between the different flow modes for IPv4 namely, packet based, flow based  and drop .

Note: Packet based is  NOT supported on SRX5000 devices.

The SRX3000 Series devices maintain existing behavior for IPv4 (default mode:  flow based ) and for IPv6 (default mode:  drop ), due to memory constraints. Also, a reboot will be required to change between the different flow modes ( flow based/drop ) for IPv4 and/or IPv6 on the SRX3k Series devices.