By Stacey McDaniel
The current worldwide standard for Internet addressing, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), can accommodate 4.3 billion IP addresses -- which are almost completely accounted for. In fact, some analysts predict that by around 2010 we'll run out of IPv4 addresses entirely. This is where IPv6 comes in.
IPv6 is an emerging architecture designed to succeed IPv4. Where IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses and will supply 340 undecillion addresses -- enough for 56.9 billion addresses for each gram of matter on the earth. This almost infinite capacity means that with IPv6, we will not need to seek another IP version -- possibly forever. However, the road to IPv6 compatibility won't be easy.
Internet growth spurt
Decades ago, when IPv4 was developed, no one expected the Internet to expand to the size it is now. The rapid increase in always-on Internet connections in homes and offices, coupled with the explosion in mobile Web-enabled devices, has had a hand in eating away the remaining IP space under IPv4. In addition to providing more addresses, the transition to IPv6 is expected to bring the government cost savings in the long run. The U.S. Department of Commerce predicts that IPv6 is capable of reducing network management costs by one-third. A 2005 report ("IPv6 Economic Impact Assessment") issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) concluded that the benefits of IPv6 will exceed $10 billion per year.
OMB mandate
Although adoption to date has been slow, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has issued a directive that all United States government systems must transition their network backbones to IPv6 by June 30, 2008. In early February 2007, NIST released "SP 500-267, A Profile for IPv6 in the U.S. Government -- Version 1.0" for comment. The NIST Web site explains the document profile:
"NIST SP 500-267 is a draft profile to assist federal agencies in developing plans to acquire and deploy products that implement IPv6. The profile recommends IPv6 capabilities for common network devices, including hosts, routers, intrusion detection systems and firewalls, and includes a selection of IPv6 standards and specifications needed to meet the minimum operational requirements of most federal agencies."
The move to IPv6 will not only be technologically complex, it will also require extra upfront budget considerations. NIST expects the costs of the IPv6 transition to come from three main areas: equipment replacement, application rewrites and staff retraining. It appears that money for the transition is slowly moving into the funding pipeline. Federal spending on IPv6-enabled products and services was expected to hit $27 billion in 2006, climbing to $60 billion by 2011.
Compatible technologies
Software and hardware manufacturers have been making enhancements to their products to be IPv6 compliant. As agencies move to IPv6, ensuring interoperability with other government agencies is important, as is maintaining security at all times. Agencies should be purchasing IPv6-compatible equipment during their regular hardware refresh cycle. Your agency likely has some IPv6-ready machines because networking equipment manufacturers have been making dual-compatible devices for several years. Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system is the first Windows version to support IPv6. The Department of Defense is the only agency thus far to actively adopt IPv6 technology -- setting the example for other agencies to follow suit.
Conclusion
It's not a question of if the government will move to IPv6, but rather, how soon. The June 2008 deadline set by the OMB is looming, and many government IT teams still need to be educated on IPv6, let alone adopt the compliant technologies. Luckily, NIST is working behind the scenes outlining guidelines, and software and hardware vendors are diligently working on releasing compliant solutions to help ease agencies' transitions.
Stacey McDaniel has been writing about high-tech issues for more than six years.