IPv6: The New Internet Protocol
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The document discusses the impending transition to IPv6, highlighting its benefits such as expanded address space, better routing, and security enhancements. Despite these advantages, IPv6 implementation has been slow primarily due to the high costs associated with upgrading infrastructure, as many organizations are still reliant on IPv4. The author emphasizes the urgency for organizations to develop IPv6 implementation plans as reliance on temporary solutions like NAT becomes increasingly unsustainable.
![IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 4
report, released in 2005 by the IPv6 Summit and Juniper Networks, estimated $75 billion for the
U.S. federal government alone (Kerner, 2011), and an FAQ from the Internet Society (n.d.)
provides only a vague answer: “Since network needs and businesses differ, IPv6 transition
strategies and related costs will … vary between organisations.” The best estimate (although still
vague) seems to have come from Robert Beckstrom, former CEO of ICANN, who in 2011 told
Enterprise Networking Planet, “We're talking about billions of dollars here globally, [but] we're
not talking trillions of dollars.”
Conclusion
Despite the daunting task of upgrading billions of dollars worth of equipment, IPv6
implementation plods along. The year 2014 saw major growth in IPv6 implementation among
major mobile and broadband ISP’s: Verizon Wireless’ deployment surged by 64%, T-Mobile by
49%, and Comcast by 38% (Coffeen, 2015). See Appendix A for charts, courtesy of Infoblox.
IPv6 is not going away. It is estimated that Google’s worldwide IPv6 traffic will reach
50% by the end of 2017 (Coffeen). The time is fast approaching when organizations will no
longer be able to ignore IPv6 and/or depend on Band-Aid solutions such as NAT. Any
organization that does not have an IPv6 implementation plan needs to put one together right now.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/rothaar-ipv6-150307185204-conversion-gate01/85/IPv6-The-New-Internet-Protocol-4-320.jpg)
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IPv6: The New Internet Protocol
- 1. Running Head: IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 1 IPv6: The New Internet Protocol Teresa J. Rothaar Wilmington University
- 2. IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 2 IPv6: The New Internet Protocol IPv6 has not yet impacted me, and since I’ve been working for myself for the better part of the last decade, I don’t have an employer for it to impact. Before taking this class, I had not even heard of IPv6. I discovered there are several sites online that allow users to test their machines for IPv6 readiness. The results of my test can be seen in Figure 1. Unfortunately, my machine and ISP are not IPv6 ready. This is not a problem right now, but it will ultimately become one once IPv6 is widely implemented, as I will not be able to access IPv6-only sites. Figure 1. Test results from test-ipv6.com. The Benefits of IPv6 When most people think of IPv6, the first benefit of IPv6 that comes to mind are all the extra addresses the protocol will free up. Just as the proliferation of mobile devices began exhausting telephone area codes in the 1990’s, IPv4 addresses are all but exhausted today. In fact, Ericsson did a study in 2012 predicting that, by 2017, the number of mobile devices would be greater than the world’s population (Tsukayama, 2012).
- 3. IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 3 Certainly, IP address exhaustion was the primary driving force behind IPv6, but other benefits of the new protocol include more efficient routing because of reduced routing table size; more efficient packet processing thanks to a simplified packet header; directed data flows (multicast rather than broadcast); simplified network configuration due to address auto configuration; support for new services due to the elimination of Network Address Translation; and better security due to IPSec, a confidentiality, authentication and data integrity protocol suite which is hardwired into IPv6 (Network Computing, 2011). Why has IPv6 Implementation Been so Slow? Despite “World IPv6 Launch” having taken place in 2012 (Tsukayama), IPv6 implementation has moved at a snail’s pace; most ISP’s are not yet equipped to provide IPv6 service to residential customers (Test IPv6). The main reason IPv6 hasn’t been widely implemented is the same reason credit card “chip” technology hasn’t: money. When IPv6 was designed, it was decided to not make IPv6 technology backward-compatible with IPv4, ostensibly because of the new features included with IPv6. However, this means that, in order to upgrade to IPv6, organizations must upgrade their entire hardware infrastructure. Capital investments are something that organizations are always loath to take on unless the need is immediate and the returns are clear; right now, neither of these scenarios is true when it comes to IPv6. IPv4 is working just fine for most organizations right now, especially since workarounds, like NAT, which allows multiple devices to use the same IP address, are available (Caldwell, 2014). Since all devices in my home have the same IP address, it appears that my own ISP, Verizon FiOS, uses NAT. Worse yet, no one really knows how much IPv6 implementation will actually cost. In 2003, NIST estimated the cost to be $25 billion over 25 years (Conrad, 2011). However, another
- 4. IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 4 report, released in 2005 by the IPv6 Summit and Juniper Networks, estimated $75 billion for the U.S. federal government alone (Kerner, 2011), and an FAQ from the Internet Society (n.d.) provides only a vague answer: “Since network needs and businesses differ, IPv6 transition strategies and related costs will … vary between organisations.” The best estimate (although still vague) seems to have come from Robert Beckstrom, former CEO of ICANN, who in 2011 told Enterprise Networking Planet, “We're talking about billions of dollars here globally, [but] we're not talking trillions of dollars.” Conclusion Despite the daunting task of upgrading billions of dollars worth of equipment, IPv6 implementation plods along. The year 2014 saw major growth in IPv6 implementation among major mobile and broadband ISP’s: Verizon Wireless’ deployment surged by 64%, T-Mobile by 49%, and Comcast by 38% (Coffeen, 2015). See Appendix A for charts, courtesy of Infoblox. IPv6 is not going away. It is estimated that Google’s worldwide IPv6 traffic will reach 50% by the end of 2017 (Coffeen). The time is fast approaching when organizations will no longer be able to ignore IPv6 and/or depend on Band-Aid solutions such as NAT. Any organization that does not have an IPv6 implementation plan needs to put one together right now.
- 5. IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 5 References Caldwell, G. (2014, August 13). Why Is the Transition To IPv6 Taking So Long? TeamARIN. Retrieved from http://teamarin.net/2014/08/13/transition-ipv6-taking-long/ Coffeen, T. (2015, February 1). IT Managers: Get Ready to Explain Your IPv6 Strategy in 2015. Infoblox. Retrieved from https://community.infoblox.com/blogs/2015/02/01/it-managers- get-ready-explain-your-ipv6-strategy-2015 Conrad, D. (2011, November 6). Time To Embrace IPv6, Not To Run From It. Forbes. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/11/06/time-to-embrace-ipv6-not-to- run-from-it/ Internet Society. (n.d.). IPv6 Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from http://www.internetsociety.org/ipv6-frequently-asked-questions Kerner, S.M. (2011, February 4). The IPv6 Transition: How Much Will It Cost? Enterprise Networking Planet. Retrieved from http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/news/article.php/11849_3923656_2/The- IPv6-Transition-How-Much-Will-It-Cost.htm Network Computing. (2011, June 8). Six Benefits of IPv6. Retrieved from http://www.networkcomputing.com/networking/six-benefits-of-ipv6/d/d-id/1232791? Test IPv6 (n.d.). Test Your IPv6 Connectivity. Retrieved from http://test-ipv6.com/ Tsukayama, H. (2012, June 6). What is IPv6, and why does it matter? The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/what-is-ipv6-and- why-does-it-matter/2012/06/06/gJQAbClTIV_story.html
- 6. IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 6 Appendix A IPv6 Deployment Charts for Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile, and Comcast in 2014 Courtesy of Infoblox
- 7. IPV6: THE NEW INTERNET PROTOCOL 7