Goodbye IPv4, Welcome IPv6.
Posted on September 7, 2007
Filed Under Work
For the past several years, there’s been a lot of hype — and mixed messages — surrounding IPv6. One day it’s “migrate away from IPv4 or be left in the dust;” the next day, it’s “well, you have some time.”But as the federal government’s self-imposed deadline to have IPv6 in place by 2008 fast approaches and experts warn of a more rapid depletion of IPv4 address — some suggesting they could be gone in fewer than five years — it appears there isn’t much time left to wait.The same experts ringing the doomsday bell for IPv4, however, also understand that migrating over to the new Internet isn’t as easy as the flick of a switch. It takes time, money and a heck of a lot of trial and error to ensure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible.
There are currently three ways to go about adding IPv6 to your network: Dual-stack, tunneling and translation. Dual-stack runs both v4 and v6 on two separate networks; tunneling jumps traffic over the nodes that haven’t been converted; and translation uses a product on the edge or a device to make v4 and v6 compatible. Whichever method you choose to start your adventure in v6 doesn’t matter. But one message experts continue to hammer home is that you should be preparing now, working with v6 tools in a lab environment, and ensuring you have a grasp of v6 before v4 breathes its final breath and everyone starts that mad scramble. That will give you time to work out the kinks and quirks inherent with a new technology and better determine which v6 path best fits in your strategy.
Here’s the source.
Do you think we’re ready for IPv6?
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