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Exchange 2013 - IPv6 (To disable or not)

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This is an interesting topic. Some believe that it is best to disable IPv6 on an Exchange 2013 Server where others do not agree.

The problem comes in where the tick box on the Network card is just removed and this then sends the Server into a spiral where services don't want to stop or start or they start and then stop and the Server just hangs endlessly. IPv6 needs to be disabled from the Registry and you do get Microsoft scripts that can do it for you or if you want to manually create the key you can. A reboot will need to take place to have this action completed.

Once the above is done, well you basically have a broken Exchange 2013 Server.

Microsoft's recommendation on IPv6 is to leave it as is, even though you are not using it. The same goes for IPv4, it has to be enabled on all Exchange servers.

While the above is recommended, many have found that IPv6 causes issues with DNS resolution. The same is said for Exchange 2010 SP3.

If you are having an issue with IPv6 on an Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2013 Server, best would be to log a support call with Microsoft so they can help you tune the IP Stack vs just disabling IPv6 and breaking your environment.

If you do need to disable IPv6 from the Registry, you can run the following from an elevated command prompt:

  • REG.exe query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip6\Parameters /v DisabledComponents
  • Double click that key and enter in the value of 0xff

Take note the above disables all IPv6 components except for the loopback interface.