Hotfix Has Been Activated

We have deployed an emergency hotfix addressing several network configuration issues discovered within Eggy BNC.

These issues affected how newly added IRC servers were displayed, how the Undernet and QuakeNet presets interacted with our IPv6 vHosts, and whether users could configure an IPv4 BindHost for networks that do not support IPv6.

The hotfix is now active. This post explains what was corrected, what has changed, and what users may need to do when connecting to IPv4-only IRC servers.

Missing server information has been corrected

We identified an issue where the server field for a newly added network could appear empty in the Eggy BNC dashboard.

This could occur after:

• Completing registration
• Opening the dashboard for the first time
• Editing a network and returning to the dashboard
• Logging out and signing back in
• Adding the initial network during registration

Although the network may have been created, the expected server information was not always displayed correctly when the account or dashboard was loaded again.

An emergency hotfix has now been applied, and newly configured server details should display as intended.

We apologise that this problem went unnoticed and was not corrected sooner.

Undernet and QuakeNet presets have changed

The default server presets available through the Networks tab have been updated for Undernet and QuakeNet.

The new defaults are:

• Undernet: irc6.undernet.org
• QuakeNet: irc6.quakenet.org

These replace:

• irc.undernet.org
• irc.quakenet.org

This change is necessary because the vHosts supplied through Eggy BNC are primarily IPv6 addresses.

The traditional irc.* round-robin addresses on these networks commonly return IPv4 servers. An IPv6 BindHost cannot be used to connect to an IPv4-only server, so the connection may fail unless one of the following is done:

• The IRC server is changed to an IPv6-capable address
• The network’s BindHost is changed to IPv4
• The selected Eggy BNC vHost is changed to an IPv4 address

Using the new irc6.* presets should allow the supplied IPv6 vHosts to work without requiring additional manual changes.

A global BindHost restriction was discovered

While investigating the preset and connection behaviour, we discovered that a global restriction was preventing users from setting a BindHost.

This restriction was more significant than it may initially appear.

Many IRC networks still operate IPv4-only servers. If an Eggy BNC network is configured with an IPv6 vHost, it cannot establish a connection to an IPv4-only IRC server. In that situation, the affected network must be configured to use an IPv4 BindHost.

The restriction preventing this has now been removed, and BindHost changes have been enabled on user accounts.

This means users can temporarily configure an individual network to connect through the Eggy BNC IPv4 address when an IPv6 connection is unavailable.

A simpler dashboard control is planned

During next week’s scheduled maintenance, we plan to introduce a dedicated IPv4 control for networks in the dashboard.

The planned feature will allow users to select a specific network and switch only that network to IPv4.

This is important because changing one network to IPv4 should not interfere with other networks that are already using IPv6 vHosts successfully.

For example, a user may have:

• Undernet using an IPv6 vHost
• QuakeNet using an IPv6 vHost
• A smaller IRC network that only supports IPv4

The planned control will allow the IPv4-only network to use the required IPv4 BindHost while leaving Undernet, QuakeNet, and any other IPv6-compatible networks unchanged.

Until that feature is available, the BindHost can be configured manually.

Temporary instructions for IPv4-only networks

First, add the network normally through the Networks tab.

You should then connect directly to that network through your Eggy BNC account using your IRC client:

Replace the following values:

• <username> with your Eggy BNC username
• <network> with the network name shown in your dashboard
• <password> with your Eggy BNC password

After connecting to the network, enter these commands:

The first command assigns the Eggy BNC IPv4 address to the selected network.

The second command disconnects that IRC network.

The third command reconnects it using the newly configured IPv4 BindHost.

Your Eggy BNC username and network name are case-sensitive. They must be entered exactly as shown in your dashboard.

Example: connecting to Undernet through IPv4

Suppose your Undernet network is configured as follows:

You would connect to that specific Eggy BNC network using:

Once connected, enter:

The Undernet connection should then reconnect through IPv4.

The same procedure can be used for any network that is configured with an IPv4-only IRC server.

Important distinction between the two connections

The +5000 shown in the /server command refers to the secure TLS connection between your IRC client and Eggy BNC:

It does not change the server port or TLS setting used by the IRC network itself.

For example, your IRC client can connect securely to Eggy BNC on port +5000, while the selected Eggy BNC network connects onward to Undernet using port 6667 without TLS.

These are two separate connections with separate settings.

No action is required for working networks

Users do not need to make any changes to networks that are already connected and operating normally.

The manual BindHost instructions are only required when:

• The selected IRC server is IPv4-only
• The network is attempting to use an IPv6 BindHost
• The network reports an IPv4/IPv6 compatibility error
• The connection repeatedly fails because the server address and BindHost use different IP versions

The updated Undernet and QuakeNet presets should reduce the likelihood of this happening when adding either network in the future.

Need help?

Should you experience further connection problems, please open a support ticket through your Eggy BNC dashboard.

Include the following details where possible:

• The network name
• The IRC server hostname
• The server port
• Whether TLS is enabled
• The exact error shown by Eggy BNC or your IRC client

This will allow us to investigate the affected configuration more quickly.

Thank you for your patience while we continue improving the reliability of Eggy BNC.