NAT46 policy

NAT46 refers to the mechanism that allows IPv4 addressed hosts to communicate with IPv6 hosts. Without such a mechanism, IPv4 environments cannot connect to IPv6 networks.

Sample topology

In this example, an IPv4 client tries to connect to an IPv6 server. A VIP is configured on FortiGate to map the server IPv6 IP address 2000:172:16:200:55 to an IPv4 address 10.1.100.55. On the other side, an IPv6 IP pool is configured and the source address of packets from client are changed to the defined IPv6 address. In this setup, the client PC can access the server by using IP address 10.1.100.55.

Sample configuration

To configure NAT46 in the GUI:

1. Enable IPv6:

   1. Go to System > Feature Visibility.
   2. In the Core Features section, enable IPv6.
   3. Click Apply.

2. Configure the VIP:

   1. Go to Policy & Objects > Virtual IPs and click Create New > Virtual IP.
   2. Enter the following:

      VIP type	IPv4
      Name	vip46_server
      Interface	port2
      Type	Static NAT
      External IP address/range	10.1.100.55
      Map to IPv6 address/range	2000:172:16:200::55

   3. Click OK.

3. Configure the IPv6 IP pool:

   1. Go to Policy & Objects > IP Pools and click Create New.
   2. Enter the following:

      IP Pool Type	IPv6 Pool
      Name	client_external
      External IP address/range	2000:172:16:201::-2000:172:16:201::7
      NAT46	Enable

   3. Click OK.

4. Configure the firewall policy:

   1. Go to Policy & Objects > Firewall Policy and click Create New.
   2. Enter the following:

      Name	policy46-1
      Incoming Interface	port10
      Outgoing Interface	port9
      Source	all
      Destination	vip46_server
      Schedule	always
      Service	ALL
      Action	ACCEPT
      NAT	NAT46
      IP Pool Configuration	client_external

   3. Configure the other settings as needed.
   4. Click OK.

To configure NAT46 in the CLI:

1. Enable IPv6:

   config system global
       set gui-ipv6 enable
   end

2. Configure the VIP:

   config firewall vip
       edit "vip46_server"
           set extip 10.1.100.55
           set nat44 disable
           set nat46 enable
           set extintf "port2"
           set ipv6-mappedip 2000:172:16:200::55
       next
   end

3. Configure the IPv6 IP pool:

   config firewall ippool6
       edit "client_external"
           set startip 2000:172:16:201::
           set endip 2000:172:16:201::7
           set nat46 enable
       next
   end

4. Configure the firewall policy:

   config firewall policy
       edit 2
           set name "policy46-1"
           set srcintf "port10"
           set dstintf "port9"
           set action accept
           set nat46 enable
           set srcaddr "all"
           set dstaddr "vip46_server"
           set srcaddr6 "all"
           set dstaddr6 "all"
           set schedule "always"
           set service "ALL"
           set logtraffic all
           set auto-asic-offload disable
           set ippool enable
           set poolname6 "client_external"
       next
   end

Sample troubleshooting

To trace the flow and troubleshoot:

# diagnose debug flow filter saddr 10.1.100.11
# diagnose debug flow show function-name enable
show function name
# diagnose debug flow show iprope enable
show trace messages about iprope
# diagnose debug flow trace start 5

id=20085 trace_id=1 func=print_pkt_detail line=5401 msg="vd-root:0 received a packet(proto=1, 10.1.100.11:27592->10.1.100.55:2048) from port10. type=8, code=0, id=27592, seq=1."
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=init_ip_session_common line=5561 msg="allocate a new session-000003b9"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=iprope_dnat_check line=4948 msg="in-[port10], out-[]"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=iprope_dnat_tree_check line=822 msg="len=1"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_check_one_dnat_policy line=4822 msg="checking gnum-100000 policy-1"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=get_vip46_addr line=998 msg="find DNAT46: IP-2000:172:16:200::55, port-27592"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_check_one_dnat_policy line=4904 msg="matched policy-1, act=accept, vip=1, flag=100, sflag=2000000"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=iprope_dnat_check line=4961 msg="result: skb_flags-02000000, vid-1, ret-matched, act-accept, flag-00000100"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=fw_pre_route_handler line=183 msg="VIP-10.1.100.55:27592, outdev-unkown"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__ip_session_run_tuple line=3220 msg="DNAT 10.1.100.55:8->10.1.100.55:27592"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=vf_ip_route_input_common line=2594 msg="find a route: flag=80000000 gw-10.1.100.55 via root"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=ip4_nat_af_input line=601 msg="nat64 ipv4 received a packet proto=1"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_check line=2112 msg="gnum-100012, check-ffffffffa0024ebe"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_check_one_policy line=1873 msg="checked gnum-100012 policy-1, ret-matched, act-accept"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_user_identity_check line=1677 msg="ret-matched"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=get_new_addr46 line=1047 msg="find SNAT46: IP-2000:172:16:201::13(from IPPOOL), port-27592"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_check_one_policy line=2083 msg="policy-1 is matched, act-accept"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=__iprope_check line=2131 msg="gnum-100012 check result: ret-matched, act-accept, flag-08050500, flag2-00200000"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=iprope_policy_group_check line=4358 msg="after check: ret-matched, act-accept, flag-08050500, flag2-00200000"
id=20085 trace_id=1 func=resolve_ip6_tuple line=4389 msg="allocate a new session-00000081"