Native IPv6 client redirected to IPv4-only mirror

[RoyK]

apt-get install <something> on a client with only IPv6 got redirected to a mirror with only IPv4, and apt failed. Quick-and-dirty "solution" was to use a proxy. I'm not sure what's best, to only add mirrors with both stacks, or to filter it somehow smarter, but it should definitely be solved.

roy

[peter green (plugwash)]

Unfortunately there are a couple of problems.

1. Mirrorbrain (the software behind mirrordirector.raspbian.org) has no option to mark mirrors as "ipv4 only".
2. Even if we could mark IPv4 only mirrors as such doing so would be a tradeoff. It would allow some v6-only clients to work that currently fail. On the other hand it is likely to mean that some dual-stack clients get sent to more distant mirrors. Pulling out v4-only mirrors completely seems even worse.

My general position is that currently a node that can only access v6 servers cannot be reasonablly considered to be "on the internet". Those wanting to run v6 only networks should consider deploying a NAT64/DNS64 gateway to allow access to v4 servers.

Another alternative is not to use mirrordirector.raspbian.org and instead to configure a mirror explicitly.

[RoyK (roysk)]

This is rubbish! Software should handle single stack as well as dual stack. In this scenario we can't use dual stack due to a number of issues.

So please look into a solution here and don't just close it with a won't fix

[Craig Genner (cgenner)]

I agree with Peter, this issue has been correctly closed.

Your issue has been incorrectly raised as a problem with the mirror system. If the mirror system directs you to a dead mirror you would also see apt failing.

This is an issue with apt not retrying, please raise this with the core apt developers.

[peter green (plugwash)]

> Software should handle single stack as well as dual stack.
The software handles it just fine. The service providers not so much :(

> In this scenario we can't use dual stack due to a number of issues.

Have you considered nat64?

> So please look into a solution here and don't just close it with a won't fix
If mirrorbrain adds an ipv4only option I may consider using it. I'm not going to pull all IPv4 only mirrors out of the system which is the only "fix" that would currently be availble from my side.

> This is an issue with apt not retrying, please raise this with the core apt developers.

Just trying the same thing over and over is unlikely to help.

Ideally what apt would do is use the information about secondary mirrors that mirrorbrain sends. It would also be helpful if the error reporting was improved.

https://lists.debian.org/deity/2014/04/msg00097.html

[RoyK (roysk)]

Reported to https://github.com/poeml/mirrorbrain/issues/161