IPv6: May The Task Force Be With You

In some quarters, IPv6 does not get as much notice as it deserves. But not if the North American IPv6 Task Force has anything to say about it. A sub-chapter of the IPv6 Forum, the Task Force has been especially active in PPv6 research and testing.

Tomorrow, the IPv6Forum meets, and will explore the state of IPv6 research and implementation.

Here's what you need to know. The current IPv4 protocol is nearly 20 years old. When it comes to facilitating peer-to-peer networking,scalability of IP addresses,and related internetworkingcommunication,IPv4 seems to have some stark limitations.

IPv6 is an attempt to correct this. The Task Force has led a worldwide Moonv6 project initiative to prove IPv6's suitability for functions handled OK by IPv4, as well as those that the aging standard may not be up to snuff for.

Here are the specs.

The Task Force hasalready performed tests that it believes proved IPv6's adaptability to handle multi-vendor interoperability and basic Internet protocols and network functionality, QoS, basic Firewall functionality and Mobile IPv6, Domain Name System (DNS) and routing and border protocols Open Shortest Path First OSPF, Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Intermediate System-Intermediate System (IS-IS). As CNET's Evan Hansen writes today, a key path-to-acceptance for IPv6 runs through recent, successfully completed Internet phone testing in military environments.

Today comes word that a new round of tests has been completed that pushes the case for IPv6 ahead considerably. We're talking about test items, functions and platforms such as Mobile IPv6 (IEEE 802.11 wireless LANs); Ethernet networks; Applications/Data traffic; Firewalls; Access Policy; Stateful Firewall Functionality; Network-level testing and deployment; IPSec and Applications between Firewalls; DHCP and DNS; Transition Mechanism Comparisons; Dual Stack Routing; Static Tunnel and additional mechanisms (tunnel broker, DSTM), as well as IPv4/IPv6 QoS network level testing.