This describes a method of setting up networking for a host and its VEs such that the networking configuration for the VEs can be configured exactly as if the VEs were standalone hosts of their own in the same subnets or VLAN as the host. This method makes use of the Virtual Ethernet device and bridges between the host and its containers. This technique has the advantage of allowing IPv6 network configurations to work on both VEs and hosts as they normally would. In particular, both hosts and VEs can use IPv6 autoconfiguration. The network configuration of a VE can be identical to that of a non-VE system.