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CCNA · 200-301Intermediate

IPv6 Static Route: Invalid Next Hop

An IPv6 static route is configured but never installs. Diagnose it and fix it yourself, live, right below.

Interactive simIPv6RoutingStatic Routes

Symptom

An IPv6 prefix is configured but absent from the routing table. Inspect recursive resolution, correct the next hop, and verify the remote LAN.

Your mission

Prove the cause, then fix it

Format

Guided CLI investigation

Start interactive labSee the investigation plan ↓Need a hint? Reveal the root cause ↓
IPv6 Static Route: Invalid Next Hop

Investigate before you configure.

Use the CLI evidence to isolate the fault, make the smallest safe correction, then verify the network state changed.

Observe the symptom and link state.

Diagnose by comparing the protocol evidence.

Verify the expected device state and confirm the original symptom is resolved.

Console access: R1 · R2

This workspace stacks for portrait phones. Rotate to landscape for the full split-screen console.

Need a hint?

Reveal the root cause when you're ready.

Try the investigation first, then use this as your escape hatch, not a dead end.

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Lab debrief

Turn the session into a repeatable troubleshooting pattern.

Use this reference after your attempt: first explain the symptom, then verify the evidence, then confirm the repair.

The problem

R1 has a static route for a remote IPv6 LAN that uses an unreachable global next hop. The command is present, but the prefix is not installed and remote pings fail.

What you'll practice

  • Read IPv6 static-route configuration
  • Check IPv6 route installation
  • Distinguish global and link-local next hops
  • Verify remote IPv6 reachability

The topology

Two IPv6 routers share a point-to-point transit network; R2 routes to a remote /64 LAN.

Commands to run yourself

The real diagnostic commands for this lab, copy-paste ready. Run these in the same order to reproduce the investigation on your own session.

Inspect IPv6 routes
show ipv6 route
Inspect configured static routes
show running-config | include ipv6 route
Check IPv6 neighbors
show ipv6 neighbors
IPv6 static route: invalid next hopR1's static route to R2's LAN names a next hop that never resolves.R1Gi0/02001:db8:12::1/64R2Gi0/02001:db8:12::2/64LAN2001:db8:20::/642001:db8:12::/64transit networkR1's configured next hopipv6 route 2001:db8:20::/64 2001:db8:12::99 - that address isn't assigned to anything.

Frequently asked

Why doesn't IOS install a static route that's clearly typed correctly?

IOS only installs a static route once its next hop resolves through another active route in the table. A syntactically valid next hop that isn't actually reachable, like an address nobody owns on the transit link, never resolves, so the route stays out of the table no matter how correct the command looks.

When do I need to specify an outbound interface on an IPv6 static route?

Whenever the next hop is a link-local address. Link-local addresses aren't globally routable and can repeat across interfaces, so IOS needs you to name the exit interface alongside the next hop to disambiguate it.

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