My network setup is very simple: two win7-64 machines connected to a switch. IPv6 enabled for their network interface. No router no outside network no DHCP.
ipconfig report for the computer shows that they obtain a link local ipv6 address:
machineA: Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::7d4a:a8f:2a:e190%10
machineB: Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2506:6b8e:d161:adcb%11
However I get "Destination host unreachable" error when I ping machineA from machineB using the following syntax: ping fe80::7d4a:a8f:2a:e190 ping fe80::7d4a:a8f:2a:e190%11
Note: when I ping using the IPv4 address using the exact same configuration and the same time I get response.
Edit: this is the interface info:
Interface List
11...78 2b cb 97 e0 a9 ......Intel(R) 82579LM Gigabit Network Connection
Best Answer
In the Windows world, that number after the
%sign in your link-local addresses is commonly referred to as a "zone ID". It's all the same though. In your scenario - two Windows 7 nodes connected by a switch - you do not need to include it. It is optional. The ping will succeed whether you include the zone ID or not.Here are two remote sessions side by side, pinging one another. Two Win2k8r2 nodes on the same switch, just like your scenario: (Open in new window if the image is not large enough)
There can only be two things stopping you at this point that I can think of: Either you have a really gimpy switch that won't switch IPv6 packets, or (most likely) you have ICMPv6 blocked by the Windows Firewall on your clients. This is the default configuration of Windows 7 and I did not read you mention the Windows Firewall, so I'd take a look there.