IPV6 picks up momentum at last

1999-07-14

Five years ago, the doomsayers were predicting that before long, the number of available IP addresses would reduce to a trickle. Back then the solution was said to lie in IP version 6, which replaces the 32-bit addressing scheme with a 128-bit scheme.

The prediction of the demise of IP version 4 – the current standard for internetworking – never quite went away. The forecasted end-date is now 2003, and the solution, as ever, is still IP version 6. V6 also comes with increased capability for reliable routing and performance, and is touted by some as the enabler for the convergence of broadband and packet switched networks. Now, with the launch of the IPV6 forum, the standard for the next generation of IP networking seems ready to lumber into reality.

The future is not necessarily going to be reached without some pain, as hardware devices currently running IP V4 will have to be changed over to the new protocol. While commentators predicting a worse catastrophe than Y2K might be overstating things (we have not, after all, seen the full might of the Y2K monster as yet) it is clear that a lot of work will need to be done. One reason why the IPV6 changeover should cause less pain than Y2K is that it is clear what needs to be done. All devices currently running an IPV4 protocol stack will need to run an IP V6 stack. If they cannot, then they will need to be replaced otherwise they will not work. This is a simpler equation than attempting to identify the compliance of code to avoid data corruption: either devices will work, or they will not. What is less clear is the approaches to be adopted by device manufacturers for the V6 changeover. While most punters can see the benefits of the new addressing scheme (despite the incomprehensible addresses relative to the simplicity of the current standard), they are the ones having to bear most of the pain for what is, after all, an initiative fron the device manufacturers.

We will expect to see significant support from vendors to enable their customers to make the jump to “the new internet”. In particular, devices from now non-existent companies (merged away by the larger players) should be supported to the same extent as newer devices. Some pain (and associated cost) is inevitable, but like Y2K, so is the change. And to think we were all going to take a breather after the millenium celebrations were over.

The IPV6 forum can be found at www.IPV6forum.com

(First published 14 July 1999)