June 2012 archive

Jun 06

IPv6 Is Now REQUIRED In All IP-Capable Nodes – And Standards

IETF LogoLooking for another great reason to advocate IPv6 support within your organization or company?  Consider this – the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has now stated clearly that IPv6 is REQUIRED in all “IP-capable” devices and systems.

On a practical level, the IETF cannot, of course, flip a magical switch that just makes everything IPv6 (if only!!)… but what this means is that you can pretty much expect that all new standards coming out of the IETF will require IPv6 – and it’s not too hard to think that there will be some new technologies/services that may come out (and be standardized) that are IPv6-only. So if you want to keep your company/organization on the leading edge of technology, this is another reason to look at how you can can transition your company’s products and services to work with IPv6.

As stated in RFC 6540 published in April 2012:

 Given the global lack of available IPv4 space, and limitations in
   IPv4 extension and transition technologies, this document advises
   that IPv6 support is no longer considered optional.  It also cautions
   that there are places in existing IETF documents where the term “IP”
   is used in a way that could be misunderstood by implementers as the
   term “IP” becomes a generic that can mean IPv4 + IPv6, IPv6-only, or
   IPv4-only, depending on context and application.

The full RFC can be found at:

http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6540

The key “best practices” recommended in the document include:

  • New IP implementations must support IPv6.
  • Updates to current IP implementations should support IPv6.
  • IPv6 support must be equivalent or better in quality and functionality when compared to IPv4 support in a new or updated IP implementation.
  • New and updated IP networking implementations should support IPv4 and IPv6 coexistence (dual-stack), but must not require IPv4 for proper and complete function.
  • Implementers are encouraged to update existing hardware and software to enable IPv6 wherever technically feasible.

As we saw with World IPv6 Launch last week, IPv6 is now becoming “the new normal” for the Internet. If you aren’t looking at how you can move your organization to IPv6, you will be left behind.

Jun 05

Forbes: 6 Reasons Why Businesses Should Deploy IPv6 Now

Leslie DaigleThe Internet Society’s own Chief Internet Technology Officer, Leslie Daigle, wrote a guest article for Forbes on “6 Reasons Why Businesses Should Deploy IPv6 Now.”

With World IPv6 Launch on everyone’s mind, more and more people are tuning into the need for IPv6. Leslie’s article provides sound advice for organizations of all sizes. Leslie maintains a focus on WHY IPv6 is so important, and sums it up  nicely with this:

Without new addresses, the Internet as we know it – a platform for realizing innovation and building new services and applications – cannot grow to connect more people and devices. Without a new way forward, billions of people will never get to use new Internet services and applications that are on the drawing boards of today’s companies and in the imaginations of tomorrow’s entrepreneurs.

She then goes into six main reasons to deploy IPv6:

  • Prevent Increased Costs
  • Prevent Disruption to Your Websites
  • Grow Your Global Business
  • Maintain Customer Experience and Access to Your Supply Chain
  • It’s Ready to Deploy Today
  • Your Competitors are Doing It

Jun 05

And So Begins World IPv6 Launch!

Here we are… 00:00 UTC on June 6, 2012.  The beginning of a “new normal” for the global Internet where IPv6 is permanently enabled on over 3,000 registered websites and many, many more out there. Over 60 network operators / ISPs have committed to enabling IPv6 for their customers… and leading home router vendors have committed to enabling IPv6 by default for all their new products.

This is it… no more test flight… this time it is for real!

The Internet as we know it is changing fundamentally and for the better, launching a new era of innovation and communication that is no longer shackled by the legacy limitations of IPv4.

Over the next 24 hours, we’ll be streaming news and information out of the World IPv6 Launch Twitter account, and the website is steadily rolling out videos from Launch participants and Internet Society Chapters over the next 24 hours. Stay tuned for more…

… and welcome to the new Internet!

Jun 04

Join Vint Cerf On June 5th In A Google+ Hangout About World IPv6 Launch

Google+ Hangouts On AirWant to listen in live to a discussion about World IPv6 Launch with Vint Cerf, one of the “Fathers of the Internet” and currently Chief Internet Evangelist at Google?

Tomorrow, June 5, one day before the big launch, Vint Cerf will be participating in a Google+ Hangout On Air at 12 noon US Pacific time. He will be discussing what is happening as part of World IPv6 Launch and will be answering questions from reporters and others gathered in the hangout.

At 12 noon PDT tomorrow, you will be able to listen in via Google+ by going to the Hangout link on Google’s Google+ page at:

https://plus.google.com/116899029375914044550/posts

(The Hangout link will not be available until it is live tomorrow.  If we learn of another way to promote the link to the session in advance we’ll update this post with the info.)

The session will be recorded and made available on YouTube.  We’ll post a link here once the archive is available.

Jun 04

Netflix Now Streaming Videos Over IPv6!

With World IPv6 Launch happening on Wednesday, we were delighted to see the news that not only is Netflix making their website available over IPv6, but now they are actually streaming videos over IPv6!  Last week, Josh Evans posted to the Netflix Technical Blog an article that included this information:

For Netflix, our initial IPv6 deployment involves the Netflix website and video streaming on the PC and Mac platforms. We will follow on with other streaming platforms. There’s no action required for Netflix members. We’ll continue to support IPv4, and IPv6 will simply work when your ISP “lights up” support in their networks.

Netflix had joined the list of World IPv6 Launch website participants back in April, but it is outstanding to now receive word that their streaming infrastructure will also support IPv6.

Kudos to the Netflix team for making this happen – and this provides a huge boost to video content availability over IPv6!  Now, native users of IPv6 will be able to stream video from both YouTube and Netflix… who will be the next video provider to embrace the future of the Internet?

Jun 04

34 Hours Until World IPv6 Launch! Are You Ready? What Are YOU Doing To Be Part Of The Event?

World IPv6 Launch starts in just about 34 hours, at 00:00 UTC on Wednesday, June 6, 2012.

What are YOU doing to be part of the event?

Have you enabled your website(s) to be available over IPv6?

Have you set up your home network with IPv6?

Are you already one of the thousands of participants in the Launch?

Are you ready for the day when the Internet gets a “new normal”?

If not, how can we help you get ready?  Check out our list of IPv6 resources – or let us know how we can help you.

If you are all ready and are participating, why not record a quick video and tell us about what YOU are doing?

On Wednesday, we’ll be celebrating with videos and blog posts telling the story of how the Internet is changing… we’d love to include your story as part of that mix!

Jun 01

Please Send Us Your Videos About World IPv6 Launch!

Why are you excited about World IPv6 Launch?  What have you done to prepare your network or websites to participate in the event?  What has your company or organization done? Why do you want to see IPv6 available to everyone? How do you see IPv6 making a better Internet?

On June 6, 2012, starting at 00:06 UTC, we’ll be using the World IPv6 Launch YouTube channel to share out your videos helping celebrate the event!  We’ve already received some great contributions from some of the participants and from some Internet Society Chapters -  now we want to add YOUR story!

Want to join in the celebration?  Here’s what we ask:

1. Record a short video answering some of these questions (whichever ones you want):

  • Why do you think IPv6 deployment is important?
  • What are you doing personally to prepare for World IPv6 Launch?
  • What is your company doing to prepare for World IPv6 Launch?
  • What does the Internet look like when the next 5 billion people come online?

The video doesn’t need to be fancy… using your webcam, mobile phone or whatever is perfectly fine.

The video doesn’t need to be long… a 1 or 2 minute video is great!  We just want to share the stories.

2. Upload the video to YouTube. When you upload the video to your account, please add the tag “v6launch” to the video so that other people can easily find these videos through searching.

3. Send us the link to your video! Please send an email message with the link to:

worldipv6launch@isoc.org

That’s it!  We’ll include as many as possible in our playlist and publishing.

DEADLINE – PLEASE SEND US THE LINK TO YOUR VIDEO BY THE END OF THE DAY ON MONDAY, JUNE 4th!

We will be queueing up all the videos on Tuesday, June 5th, so we need the links by the end of the day on Monday, June 4th.

This is your chance to share the story of what you and/or your company/organization have done to help make IPv6 the “new normal” for the Internet!

Thanks for participating and joining us in this celebration!

As an example of the type of video we’re looking for, here’s my (Dan York) contribution to the video stream: