4. Disable firewall/filtering when using Personal Communications IPv6 functionality on Windows

Problem(Abstract)

The Windows® XP Internet Connection Firewall (filtering) blocks IPv6 packets by default. You must disable IPv6 filtering for all adapters for Personal Communications to operate properly. The behavior is different from Windows Firewall (introduced in Windows XP SP2).

Resolving the problem

If the Windows Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) is enabled, Personal Communications IPv6 features might not function properly. You must explicitly disable the ICF IPv6 firewall/filtering.

ICF is available on Windows XP releases prior to Service Pack 2; Microsoft™ introduced Windows Firewall with XP SP2.

To configure ICF, type netsh firewall show adapter at a command prompt to see a list of all network adapters with IPv6 configured. Each item indicates whether filtering is enabled for that adapter, as follows: 
------------------------------------------------
AdapterFriendlyName IPV6FilteringEnabled
------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection Yes
6to4 Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Yes
Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Yes
------------------------------------------------
You could use the following commands to disable IPv6 filtering for the adapter interfaces shown in the previous example:
  • netsh firewall set adapter "Local Area Connection" filtering=disable
  • netsh firewall set adapter "6to4 Tunneling Pseudo-Interface" filtering=disable
  • netsh firewall set adapter "Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface" filtering=disable
After you disable filtering, type netsh firewall show adapter to show the firewall status. The display should be similar to the following: 
------------------------------------------------
AdapterFriendlyName IPV6FilteringEnabled
------------------------------------------------
Local Area Connection No
6to4 Tunneling Pseudo-Interface No
Automatic Tunneling Pseudo-Interface No
------------------------------------------------

For additional details about configuring the IPv6 Internet Connection Firewall, refer to the Microsoft® TechNet database.