IPv6 Takes a Test Flight

Today is World IPv6 Day, when several of the largest websites—including Google, Facebook and Microsoft—officially are enabling IPv6 for their sites and Internet experts will observe network operations as IPv6 traffic hits the lines. The point is to see what breaks—although IPv6 has been an official protocol for over a decade and many network components may have IPv6 functionality, this will be the first large-scale test.

CompTIA has prepared a whitepaper explaining the need for IPv6 as a new addressing protocol and describing some of the details that an organization should be aware of as it considers a transition. The whitepaper also contains data taken from our Q2 2011 Business Confidence Survey regarding general awareness of IPv6. Although 56 percent of companies surveyed have followed news on IPv6, only 23 percent have performed any network upgrades and 31 percent have done nothing (meaning they have not even followed news and are likely unaware of the topic).

Although IPv6 is critical to the continued growth of the Internet in general, an IPv6 transition is not necessarily critical for an organization in the same way that Y2K upgrades were critical. Using IPv4 addresses throughout a company network will continue to function up to the point where new addresses are needed. At that point, if there are no IPv4 addresses available from an Internet provider, IPv6 addresses will be issued. Similarly, customers may be receiving IPv6 addresses and trying to access IPv4 content. Although network backbone translators may handle this, those translators may not be robust enough for a company’s needs.

The questions of when and how an organization will transition to IPv6 will need to be answered, and solution providers can play a proactive role in engaging customers and helping them analyze their IPv6 timeframe. For now, World IPv6 Day will provide insight into areas that may need more attention as the Internet prepares for IPv6 traffic. Any end-users experiencing problems during this worldwide test should contact their solution provider or Internet carrier, but disruptions are expected to be minimal.

CompTIA will continue to monitor trends and issues with IPv6 and produce content as appropriate for educating our members. Please contact our team if you have questions on the topic, or share your IPv6 experience with us in the comments below.