ssh + IPV6 + bridge => connection freezes

[Matthew Dillon]

:	Hi,
:
:	If IPV6 is enabled on a box and a bridge interface is enabled on
:the same interface then any ssh connection to the box using the IPv6
:address will freeze after a little activity (30 seconds of typing random
:commands seems to be enough), bringing the bridge down with ifconfig will
:restore activity to the ssh sessions (left alone they time out). I have seen
:this with both 32 and 64 bit systems using up to date master code.
:
:	I'm also not sure that it's appropriate for a bridge interface to
:have an IPv6 link local address - perhaps this is connected.
:
:-- 
:Steve O'Hara-Smith                          |   Directable Mirror Arrays

    This is probably an issue with the MAC learning for the bridge.
    IPV6 works differently than IPV4, I think the MAC is built into
    the IPV6 address and there's no interface ARP (not sure though).
    We would need to explicitly support that in the bridge code.

    The reason it works for 30-seconds is probably due to the bridge's
    auto-learning.  When the bridge doesn't know how to route a packet
    it basically just broadcasts it.  It is probably learning the wrong
    thing, thinks it knows how to route the packet, but is not actually
    routing it to the right place.  You can test this by issuing a bridge
    flush command with ifconfig (man bridge), then determine if bridging
    works again for a little bit.  That isn't optimal since it's
    broadcasting in that state, so we will have to figure out the correct
    solution.

    Another problem is the MAC munging the bridge does.  When you connect
    an interface to a bridge *all* packets sent from that interface use
    the bridge's MAC address (otherwise there would be mass confusion).
    IPV6 is probably circumventing this by pulling the MAC out of the IPV6
    address (which is initially formed using the interface MAC) instead
    of using the interface MAC.

					-Matt
					Matthew Dillon 
					<dillon at backplane.com>