For Immediate Release
 

ATIS
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Washington, DC 20005

Contact: Trish St. Michel
Phone: 202-434-8851
E-mail: tstmichel@atis.org
www.atis.org

ATIS Releases Report on Transition to IPv6

Security, IPv4 Compatibility Cited as Challenges

May 24, 2006, Washington – The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is a question of “when, not if,” according to a new industry report published by ATIS, but the transition will be at a staggered pace as organizations react to different demands and needs.

Spurred by the United States government’s June 2008 deadline for IPv6-compliant agency infrastructure, the debate over the shrinking number of available IPv4 network addresses in the existing network and growing customer interest in new network services enabled by IPv6, the ATIS Technology and Operations (TOPS) Council created the IPv6 Task Force in October 2005 to assess the key drivers behind the transition to IPv6 and the impacts a transition will or may have on the existing IPv4 infrastructure.

“The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is already underway in some areas and will evolve over time, so it is important that the industry ensure interoperability across networks,” said Susan Miller, president and CEO of ATIS. “ North America has a fully developed and entrenched IPv4 infrastructure. The ATIS TOPS Council formed this IPv6 Task Force as a place for the industry to work together to identify fundamental steps and recommendations that will enable a seamless transition in the coming years.”

There is no set timeframe for the evolution from IPv4 to IPv6. It will be driven by the development of enterprise IPv6 networks and sufficient interest and demand for IPv6 services such as the delivery of a variety of peer-to-peer multimedia services over an IMS architecture.

The primary recommendations of the IPv6 Task Force include the following.

  • The general adoption of dual-stack and complementary tunneling technologies for transitioning the current network infrastructure. Dual-stack is the separate implementation of the TCP/IP and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) suite of protocols that includes both IPv4 and IPv6 Internet layers, enabling communication with both IPv4 and IPv6 nodes. Tunneling is the packaging of IPv6 data through encapsulation or address assignment so it can travel across an IPv4 network.
  • The immediate start of limited launch planning to test and refine efforts. A limited launch phase of deployment should be initiated soon to provide the data required to plan subsequent deployments.
  • Broader transition during the normal software and hardware upgrade cycles. Incorporating IPv6 capability during the normal hardware and software upgrades necessary on the network and service infrastructure will allow for the gradual introduction of IPv6 services and functionality to meet demand.
  • The eventual deployments of IPv6-only networks and services. The industry needs to play a leadership role in minimizing the fragmentation and/or partitioning of the Internet between isolated IPv4 and IPv6 stand-alone networks. As such, before IPv6-only networks becomes common: 1) the industry should promote IPv6, encouraging the widespread transition to dual-stack capabilities in all aspects of the Internet; and 2) IPv6 service production should be available to all customers.

The ATIS Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Report and Recommendation is available free of charge on the ATIS website, www.atis.org. The Task Force’s next step will be to assess the current IPv6 standardization landscape with respect to interoperability.

The ATIS IPv6 Task Force includes representatives from AT&T, Bell Canada, BellSouth, Cisco, Ericsson, Juniper Networks, Lucent, Nortel, Qwest and Verizon.

About ATIS

ATIS is a technical planning and standards development organization that is committed to rapidly developing and promoting technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technologies industry worldwide using a pragmatic, flexible and open approach. Participants from more than 350 communications companies are active in ATIS’ 23 industry committees and Incubator Solutions Program. www.atis.org

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