Preferring IPv4 over IPv6

by Mitch Tulloch [Published on 15 April 2015 / Last Updated on 15 April 2015]

A tip that tests your knowledge about how you can configure Windows to prefer IPv4 over IPv6 for network communications.

Quick check

  • What effect will the value 0x21 have when it is assigned to a newly created DisabledComponents registry value on a Windows computer?

Quick check answer

  • The hexadecimal number 0x21 converted to binary form is 00100001, which means that bits 0 and 5 have the value 1. Assigning this value to the DisabledComponents registry value will do two things. First, it will cause IPv4 to be preferred over IPv6 when the computer attempts to establish network communications. And second, it will disable all IPv6 tunnel interfaces on the computer.

The above tip was excerpted from Mitch Tulloch's book Training Guide: Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2012 from Microsoft Press.

Mitch is a ten-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award and a widely recognized expert on Windows Server and cloud computing technologies.  For more information see http://www.mtit.com.

See Also


The Author — Mitch Tulloch

Mitch Tulloch is a well-known expert on Windows Server administration and cloud computing technologies. He has published over a thousand articles on information technology topics and has written, contributed to or been series editor for over 50 books.