Enabling IPv4 Applications for IPv6

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

You can use the PortProxy service as an application-layer gateway for nodes or applications that do not support IPv6. PortProxy facilitates the communication between nodes or applications that cannot connect using a common address type, Internet layer protocol (IPv4 or IPv6), and TCP port. The primary purpose of the service is to allow IPv6 nodes to communicate with IPv4 TCP applications.

PortProxy relays TCP traffic from IPv4 to either IPv4 or IPv6, or from IPv6 to either IPv6 or IPv4. In the context of IPv6/IPv4 coexistence or migration, use the PortProxy service to enable any of the following scenarios:

  • An IPv6 node accessing an IPv4-only application that is running on an IPv4 node.

  • An IPv4-only node accessing an IPv6-only node.

  • An IPv6-only node accessing an IPv4-only node.

The Netsh commands for Interface Portproxy provide a command-line tool for administering servers that act as proxies between IPv4 and IPv6 networks and applications. For more information about how to use the Netsh Interface PortProxy commands, see the Netsh command-line help, or see "Netsh commands for Interface Port Proxy" in Help and Support Center for Windows Server 2003.

Note

  • The PortProxy service transmits only TCP traffic for application-layer protocols that do not embed address or port information in the TCP segment. For example, the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which embeds addresses when using the FTP Port command, does not work across a PortProxy computer. Unlike NAT, the PortProxy service does not include an equivalent to NAT editors.