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August 10, 2010
IPv6: The Nightmares Ahead
By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor
The next generation of Internet Protocol, IPv6, has gotten much attention over the last few years as it was becoming obvious that IPv4 did not offer enough addresses to provide homes for the number of different websites and users on the Internet. Governments have made the move mandatory for their agencies and eventually, everyone will have to make the move if they hope to stay connected.
According to a recent PC World report, however, this move could be much more of a nightmare than anyone has predicted. As network administrators struggle to make the change, one thing is becoming readily apparent: there is too much network equipment currently in use that cannot handle IPv6.
This of course is a bonanza for equipment manufacturers as they can immediately jump on board with companies throughout the world and sell the virtues of their IPv6-ready offerings.
There are other vendors competing in the industry who claim their equipment is ready for the next platform, but test runs are proving they can’t handle the new environment. The biggest problem appears to be network incompatibilities. In some cases, devices from the same vendor are not connecting properly with IPv6 – oops.
It does appear that the latest operating systems, such as Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 and Linux appear to support IPv6 the way that they should. The problem seems to be solely in the hardware, including routers, switches, etc.
There are plenty of individuals who believe IPv6 is a network administrator’s problem and not something the rest of us have to worry about. If you need a new IP address in the near future, however, it’s likely it won’t be available on IPv4.
By the beginning of August 2010, there were only 6 percent of IPv4 addresses remaining. By early 2012, it’s likely such addresses will be completely gone and IPv6 will be the only option.
For the company that has yet to consider a strategy for moving to IPv6, the coming months could be a nightmare. If they leave it until it is a “must”, the business could suffer or they will have to invest in a completely new system in order to accomplish their goals.
Such investments are better made over the course of time as they look better on the balance sheet. Those who wait to make the change may find themselves faced with more challenges than they can handle at once.
In May, TMCnet announced that Doug Junkins, chief technology officer and vice president of IP development for the Global IP Network Business Unit of NTT America, was scheduled to speak at FutureNet 2010, an industry event focusing on the next generation of networks for enterprises, service providers and vendors in the communications services arena.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
