IPv6 is already here, but it is unevenly distributed. Many of the Internet devices around us can be configured to support the IPv6 protocol suite, but we are often still using legacy IPv4 systems. As you probably already know, the IPv4 address space is exhausted, and all Internet technical standards bodies have endorsed IPv6. Because of the address space exhaustion, and other important reasons, it is critical that we transition to IPv6. But, it often seems easier to put things off to tomorrow, thinking that IPv4 is good enough for now.
In Part 1 of The Path to IPv6, we gave you a presentation template for pitching the importance of starting your IPv6 transition to management.
Here in Part 2 of The Path to IPv6, we collaborated with Ed Horley, Co-founder and CEO of Hexabuild, and Jeremy Duncan, Managing Partner and IPv6 Architect for Tachyon Dynamics, to bring you a selection of up-to-date resources to guide the transition.
Key takeaways for the IPv6 transition
It is important to recognize up front that, for organizations of all sizes, there are multiple stakeholders who must be involved, and you will need continual buy-in from everyone to keep up the momentum. Keep in mind there are multiple pressures from your internet or managed service provider (ISP or MSP), possible future charges to maintain IPv4 addresses and requirements from some Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings or Internet of Things (IoT) services to use IPv6.
The first step is to evaluate where you are. An IPv6 Assessment involves listing all products, software, and services being used in your IT environment and evaluating their level of IPv6 capability. This list must include technical requirements for routing, and security, within your network. You will use this list to prioritize which part of your network to upgrade first.
As you procure new products or services, it’s important to know which are not only certified as IPv6 ready but will fill your actual needs. You could carefully read every spec sheet of every device or service, and then still be in the dark as to how well certain critical features are supported. What if a manufacturer leaves out an optional part of IPv6 which you need?
The IPv6 transition will take time because there is no magic wand to switch at the snap of your fingers. You will find some parts of your network can convert to IPv6 quickly. But, it is unavoidable that for every such service, several others will take time to develop the solution which solves your needs. Therefore, you will end up running a dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 network as you convert your systems.
There is potential for a Y2K-like problem in that software may have been written to accidentally contain IPv4-isms. The most common is presuming that an internet address is a 32-bit integer represented as 4 octets, such as 192.168.1.1. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit integers, with several possible representations. The real cure is to not store IP addresses but to store domain names or service names. Using hard-coded IP addresses makes for brittle applications.
IPv6 transition resources
The following is a list of up-to-date recommendations that can help guide your IPv6 transition
- The importance of moving forward with IPv6 transition: Are Small-and-Medium-Sized Businesses Ready for IPv6?
- In practice, you will find this necessary: IPv6-Only Where You Can, Dual-Stack Where You Must
- NIST has developed the USGv6 Standards Profile, to guide US Government agencies in adopting IPv6. Their work can also be useful in your organization. See USGv6 Revision 1. The University of New Hampshire maintains the USGv6 Revision 1 Tested Registry, listing USGv6 R1 compatible devices.
- Learn about IPv6 readiness assessments with: IPv6 Buzz 085: Is Your Network Ready For IPv6?
In this episode Ed, Scott, and Tom discuss IPv6 readiness assessments, what they should include, and some helpful ideas for where to start.
Topics discussed include:
- What does “IPv6 ready” even mean?
- IPv6 support and tech refresh of infrastructure
- Feature vs functional parity and why it matters
- Keeping your vendors honest about IPv6 support
- You can hear from Doug Montgomery with NIST who helped develop the USGv6 Standards Profile on IPv6 Buzz 072: NIST And Testing IPv6
Today’s IPv6 Buzz guest, Doug Montgomery, is manager of Internet and scalable systems research at NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology), which has been critical in helping standardize IPv6 interoperability standards and testing.
Topics discussed include:
- NIST’s role in IPv6 adoption and primary goals (along with current IPv6 project status and efforts NIST is working on)
- The USGv6 testing program and how it’s used by Federal and commercial enterprises to help them evaluate IPv6-capable products
- How NIST provides IPv6 planning, testing, and deployment advice for many years to U.S. Federal organizations (and how this guidance applies to commercial enterprises)
- What the “IPv6 Capability Vocabulary” is for defining an IT product‘s function and how Capability Summary Strings (CSSs) work
- Software developer advice with Richard Campbell for IPv6: IPv6 Buzz 081: App Development And IPv6
In today’s IPv6 Buzz podcast, hosts Ed and Tom speak with Richard Campbell all about app development and IPv6. Richard is a Microsoft veteran and DevOps manager as well as host of the popular tech podcasts RunAs Radio and .NET Rocks. He’s also the founder of non-profit Humanitarian Toolbox, a charity focused on building open-source software for disaster relief organizations.
Topics discussed include:
- How do app developers (and their managers) interact with IPv6?
- What are some of the challenges they face?
- What does IPv6 adoption for development teams look like?
- What is the Humanitarian Toolbox project?
- IPv6 applications with Dan York: IPv6 Buzz 053: Applications And IPv6
In this week’s episode, Scott and Tom discuss applications and IPv6 with Dan York. We also talk to Dan about his role at the Internet Society and pro-IPv6 ISOC programs such as Deploy360 and Open Standards Everywhere. Dan is the Director of Web Strategy at the Internet Society and the author of “Migrating Applications to IPv6: Make Sure IPv6 Doesn’t Break Your Applications,” originally published by O’Reilly Media.
Topics discussed include:
- The current state of application support for IPv6
- What enterprise users most need to know about how IPv6 applications behave (or don’t)
- Dan’s role at the Internet Society and how programs like Deploy 360 and the Open Standards Everywhere project help drive IPv6 adoption
- Network address allocation for IPv6: IPv6 Buzz 082: All About Allocations
In today’s IPv6 Buzz podcast, Ed, Tom, and Scott discuss IPv6 allocations. Getting allocation right is critical to a successful IPv6 adoption.
Topics discussed include:
- Allocation sizing: How small is too small (and how big is too big)?
- The differences between allocations from Regional Internet Registries (RIRs), Service Providers, and government agencies
- Some of the address planning principles critical to properly sizing an allocation request
- How much IPv6 do RIRs have and how do they manage it?
- Do I need a Provider Independent (PI) allocation?
- Using network management tools on an IPv6 network with Nick Buraglio and Chris Cummings: IPv6 Buzz 080: Working With IPv6 In The Management Plane
On today’s IPv6 Buzz, Ed and Scott talk about IPv6 in the management plane with guests Nick Buraglio and Chris Cummings, network engineers and co-hosts of the MODEM podcast.
Topics discussed include:
- The key management plane challenges when deploying IPv6
- Whether IPv6 is harder to work with in the management plane compared to the control or data planes
- Dual-stack versus IPv6-only in the management plane
- IPv6 prefix space for lab deployments and management plane impacts
Bonus:
- IPv6 in the United States’ federal government and Department of Defense with Jeremy Duncan: IPv6 Buzz 038: IPv6 In The Federal Government
In this week’s episode Ed, Scott and Tom discuss IPv6 in the United States’ federal government and Department of Defense with Jeremy Duncan. As a founder and leading partner of the consultancy Tachyon Dynamics, Jeremy is an IPv6 expert with nearly 15 years of working with the protocol in the federal and DoD space (including while serving in the Marine Corps). He’s also a participant with the North American IPv6 Task Force and has delivered talks at the NAv6TF summit.
Topics discussed include:
- How the US federal government views IPv6 adoption and how the DoD responded in deploying IPv6
- Future adoption and use of IPv6 for the DoD (as well as for civilian enterprises that work with the DoD)
- How the DoD has been able to innovate using IPv6
- What the federal government needs to do to continue promoting IPv6 adoption both internally and externally
- Global IPv6 Adoption Strategy with Pete Sclafani: IPv6 Buzz 045: Fine-Tuning IPv6 Adoption Strategies For Service Providers And Enterprises
In this week’s episode Ed and Tom discuss global IPv6 adoption strategy with Pete Sclafani of 6connect, a global network automation platform for service providers and enterprises. As COO and co-founder of 6connect, Pete has been helping some of the largest service providers in the world manage IPv6.
Topics discussed include:
- Why a significant percentage of IT operators have such fear and loathing of IPv6–and how to change it
- Different motivations between service providers and enterprises to adopt IPv6
- How IPv6 impacts business processes as much as technical processes
- Testing vendor claims of IPv6 support and overall IT strategy
- Risks and benefits of IPv6 as a greenfield network design opportunity
- Communicating the importance of IPv6 to business leaders
As always, we’re here to help! Please feel free to contact us at any time with any questions or feedback. We are going to revisit this list of resources on a regular basis, so keep the ideas coming. Feel free to reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.