Transitioning to IPv6 – Are You Ready?

A press release on Cisco’s website identifies that top websites, internet service providers and networking manufacturers have all committed to permanently enable IPv6 for their products by June 6, 2012. The event has been organized by Internet Society, the mission of Internet Society is to promote the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world. In 2011, Internet Society held a similar one-day event called World IPv6 Day, which celebrated developments and milestones in the deployment of IPv6.

The press release states that “IPv6 is critical to the Internet’s continued growth as a platform for innovation and economic development.” In 2010, President Obama mandated all agencies to have IPv6 deployed on their public-facing websites by September 30, 2012. The Cisco website reports many benefits of using IPv6, the website states:

IPv6 is a new IP protocol mandated by the federal government for compliance across all organizations, It is designed to replace IPv4, the Internet protocol currently deployed and used most extensively throughout the world.

The benefits of IPv6 include:

  • Simplified packet header for routing efficiency
  • Mandatory IP Security (IPSec) implementation for all IPv6 devices
  • Improved support for mobile IP and mobile computing devices
  • Enhanced multicast support with increased addresses and efficient mechanisms

John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco stated in the release, “IPv6 is important to all of us. It is critical to the continued growth of the Internet, bringing together people and devices around the globe. As a leader in the development of IPv6 since its inception, Cisco is excited to be an integral part of the industry working together toward the World IPv6 Launch organized by the Internet Society. In addition to the continued support for IPv6 we have in our products today, we will be joining other websites around the world by permanently enabling IPv6 on www.cisco.com, as well as enabling IPv6 by default on our new line of E-series home routers.”

As the September 30 date creeps closer and closer, many agencies are still lagging behind in meeting deadlines. An article from Networked World identifies “With less than five months to go, more than 99% of federal websites aren’t supporting the next-gen Internet Protocol on their DNS, email and Web services.” Cisco has a great case study about the Department of Defense and their move to IPv6, you can view it here.

Cisco has a lot of great information about IPv6 to help government agencies. Be sure to visit Cisco page, I pulled a few key resources for you to view below:

For more than 25 years, governments around the world have partnered with Cisco to address challenges and achieve strategic objectives. By working closely with government leaders like you, we glean insights that cultivate thought leadership and help us design, execute, and test solutions based on best practices and our partner ecosystem. These ongoing relationships have forged thousands of proven implementations across a variety of public sector organizations, providing continuous innovation in how communities are managed and renewed.. Check out the Technology Sub-Community of which they are a council member.

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