ARIN details key findings from NTIA IPv6 Workshop

Online, October 4, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Chantilly, VA - The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), a nonprofit association that manages the distribution of IP addresses and other Internet number resources, announced today key findings from the NTIA IPv6 Workshop held on September 28, 2010. The workshop began with a panel discussion moderated by Aneesh Chopra, Chief Technology Officer for the United States, which brought together experts including John Curran, President and CEO of ARIN, to highlight the necessary steps American businesses must take to assure IPv6 adoption.

With 94.5% of IPv4 addresses already allocated and the remaining 5.5% expected to be allocated by mid-2011, the panel of industry experts explained that IPv6 is the only path to continued Internet growth. The panelists also agreed that IPv6 is necessary for all future efforts around cloud computing, smart grid, mobility, and the Internet of Things.

ARIN hopes that the workshop will encourage businesses that provide services over the Internet, for example via a website, to make the necessary IPv6 preparations sooner rather than later. Steps that businesses can take include:

- Replacing any outdated equipment and software with IPv6-ready devices and applications
- Encouraging hardware and application vendors to support IPv6, and specifically including IPv6 support in RFPs and contracts
- Sending IT staff to IPv6 training seminars and encouraging them to read forums like the ARIN IPv6 Wiki
- Talking to ISPs about getting IPv6 service or about tunneling IPv6 over IPv4

Other key outcomes from the NTIA industry panel:

- Chopra called out three deliverables that industry experts should help create to provide clarity for the enterprise industry, and to help businesses with their IPv6 transition.
~ Create a template for enterprise board members to evaluate adoption risks and keep up-to-date on their organizations' IPv6 adoption status
~ Create a template for engineers that includes the right questions to ask vendors and any training activities they should take part in
~ Create a transparency dashboard so both domestic and international enterprises and governments can see how the United States, as a whole, is progressing toward IPv6 adoption

- Jason Livingood, Executive Director for Comcast highlighted some findings from Comcast's recent IPv6 trials. Native IPv4 and IPv6 dual-stack networks have the best access and are ultimately less expensive to set up and operate.

Following the industry panel, Chief Information Officer for the United States, Vivek Kundra, led a government panel detailing the U.S. Government's commitment to the operational deployment and use of IPv6. Mr. Kundra also announced additional steps government agencies must take to expedite the operational deployment and use of IPv6. These steps include:

- Upgrade public/external facing servers and services (e.g. web, email, DNS, ISP services, etc) to operationally use native IPv6 by the end of FY 2012
- Upgrade internal client applications that communicate with public Internet servers and supporting enterprise networks to operationally use native IPv6 by the end of FY 2014
- Designate an IPv6 Transition Manager by October 30, 2010, to serve as the person responsible for leading the agency's IPv6 transition activities, and liaison with the wider Federal IPv6 effort as necessary
- Ensure agency procurements of networked IT comply with FAR requirements for use of the USGv6 Profile and Test Program for the completeness and quality of their IPv6 capabilities

"The good news is this part of the ecosystem is up and running. We have the protocol people need. We have the administrative infrastructure to issue IPv6 addresses," added Curran. "I've been informing Internet backbone companies, content providers, enterprises, and governments that we're going to be running out of IPv4 addresses for 15 years. It's now taking those plans and realizing them promptly over the next 18 months that will be essential for success."