2. About IPv4 and IPv6 Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Deployed 1981 1999 Address Size 32-bit number 128-bit number Address Format Dotted Decimal Notation: 192.149.252.76 Hexadecimal Notation: 3FFE:F200:0234:AB00: 0123:4567:8901:ABCD Prefix Notation 192.149.0.0/24 3FFE:F200:0234::/48 Number of Addresses 2 32 = 4,294,967,296 2 128 = 340,282,366,920, 938,463,463,374,607,431, 768,211,456
9. RIRs have been allocating IPv6 address space since 1999 Thousands of organizations have obtained an IPv6 allocation to date ARIN has IPv6 distribution policies for both service providers and end-user organizations
10. Situation Today, the Internet is predominantly based on IPv4 The Internet must run two IP versions at the same time (IPv4 & IPv6) - this is the “dual-stack” approach
11. Situation Today, there are organizations attempting to reach your mail and web servers via IPv6. In the near future there will be many more deployments using IPv6.
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13. Call to Action Enterprise Customers Mail and web servers need to be reachable via IPv6 in addition to IPv4 in the future Open a dialogue with your Internet Service Provider about future IPv6 services Each organization’s decision regarding timeline & investment level will vary
14. Call to Action Internet Service Providers Begin planning to connect customers via both IPv4 and IPv6 now Communicate with your peers and vendors about IPv6 IPv6 considerations when making purchases
15. Call to Action Equipment Vendors Probably limited demand for IPv6 in the past Demand for IPv6 support will become mandatory very, very quickly Introduce IPv6 support into your product cycle as soon as possible
16. Call to Action Content Providers Content clients must be reachable to newer Internet customers Begin planning to connect hosting customers via both IPv4 and IPv6 now Encourage customers to use IPv6 and test their applications over it as soon as possible
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18. IPv6 Adoption Needs IPv6 address space IPv6 connectivity (native or tunneled) Operating systems, software, and network management tool upgrades Router, firewall, and other hardware upgrades IT staff and customer service training
This presentation describes the impending depletion of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and the importance of adopting the next version of the Internet protocol, Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). This issue impacts everyone and must be understood and acted upon to ensure the continued growth and operation of the Internet.
IPv4 address space has been used for decades to grow the Internet. When engineers deployed IPv4 in 1981, four billion IP addresses seemed like plenty. As the world caught on to the commercial possibilities of the Internet, though, engineers realized that the number of IP addresses simply wasn’t enough for all the laptops, mobile devices, web servers, routers, and other devices coming online. The first allocation of IPv6 address space by a Regional Internet Registry (RIR) to a provider was made in April of 1999.
The five RIRs each obtain their IPv4 address space from the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). The RIRs then use that IPv4 address space to satisfy requests for the resource in their respective regions. This slide indicates what has already been allocated to the RIRs, what is still available to the RIRs in the coming year(s), and what is unavailable. The unavailable address space includes Class D multicast address space, Class E experimental address space, and the address space identified in RFC 1918.
With anticipated increase in demand for IPv4 address space, the IANA free pool will likely be depleted by 2011. The RIRs would then only be left with their respective resource inventories that will likely be quickly depleted.
This slide shows the number of /8s the IANA has allocated to the RIRs each year. Four additional /8s were allocated in the first quarter of 2009. It is important to note each RIR holds approximately 12-18 months of inventory. Rate of allocation from these inventories and the need for several RIRs to request additional /8s at a similar timeframe may cause a spike in allocations from the IANA to the RIRs.
Nearly thirty /8s were drawn down from the IANA free pool over the last three years. Due to anticipated increase in demand, RIRs will draw down the IPv4 resource from the IANA even faster than in previous years and deplete the pool sometime during 2010 or 2011.
As the RIRs continue to draw down the resource from the IANA free pool, the RIRs strongly encourage the adoption of IPv6. Over the next couple of years the RIRs will continue to distribute IPv4 address space and will see the depletion of the free pool. Consumers will naturally over-provision the IPv4 resources they already have and the Internet may see more Network Address Translation (NAT) used. The rate of IPv6 adoption will accelerate as consumers realize the imminent depletion of the IPv4 resource. This impacts everyone.
IPv6 provides a much larger pool of IP addresses. IPv6 is not backwards compatible with IPv4. The much larger IPv6 numbering system is meant to one day completely replace IPv4, but this will take many years. In the meantime, much of the Internet will run IPv4 and IPv6 simultaneously. This is necessary to ensure all users, regardless of the protocol version they are using, will be able to interact with all content on the Internet.
The RIRs began distributing IPv6 address space in 1999. Although thousands of organizations have obtained the resource to date, IPv6 has not been widely adopted. Some people predicted in the 1990s that the only true driver for IPv6 adoption would be the depletion of the IPv4 resource. Many people would agree those predictions were accurate, as today we see the increased energy to adopt IPv6 in anticipation of imminent IPv4 depletion.
To ensure your web and mail servers are able to communicate with all users, regardless of the protocol version they are using, you must make them available over both IPv4 and IPv6. As the IPv4 free pool is depleted, many service providers will begin adding users to the Internet using IPv6. The already deployed IPv4 base will remain with us for many years, however. It is important to support both versions of the protocol for many years to come.
It is likely you have users attempting to reach your mail, web, and other services over the IPv6 network today. Even if those attempts are few today, they will soon be many. As the IPv4 resource depletes, providers will add new users to the Internet using IPv6.
Building new networks and adding new users to the Internet require contiguous number resources. As we move closer to the depletion of the IPv4 resource, there will soon only be contiguous IPv6 resources available for new networks and users. This impacts everyone, but in slightly different ways. It is up to all of us to make this transition to a dual-stacked Internet as transparent as possible to home users. There is a fair amount of work involved to make this happen. It is important it does happen to ensure the smooth operation of the Internet we all enjoy today.
Nearly all enterprise organizations have a website and communicate using e-mail. To ensure these services can communicate with everyone on the Internet going forward, your web and mail servers will need to be dual-stacked. Doing this sooner rather than later will ensure all users will continue to be able to see your website and communicate with you via e-mail. You may manage these services internally or through a vendor. Either way, speak to those who are responsible for your server operations about adding IPv6 accessibility to them.
In addition to turning up new customers using IPv6, there is work to be done by Internet Service Providers to ensure their existing IPv4 customers are able to interact with new IPv6-only content on the Internet. ISPs will need to establish protocol translation and/or tunneling services for their customers. You should be planning this now.
Equipment vendors who distribute a hardware or software product that interacts with IPv4 networks should be making sure the product is also capable of interacting with IPv6. Although customer demand for IPv6 support may have been limited in the past, it will very quickly escalate. To be prepared for customer demand, begin introducing IPv6 support into your product cycle as soon as possible.
Content providers manage web, mail, and other services for their customers. It is important for content providers to begin upgrading their capabilities to include IPv6 access to those services for their customers. Demand from customers may be low today, but soon they will begin contacting their content providers to determine why someone can’t see their website or send them e-mail. It is important to act now and ensure services over both IPv4 and IPv6.
A desired role of government during this period of transition is to promote awareness. Coordinating with industry, creating incentives, and promoting IPv6 adoption are all very important and helpful ways for governments to assist with the transition to a dual-stacked Internet. Officially adopting IPv6 and making government services available over both versions of the Internet Protocol sends a very strong message and ensures services remain available to all.
Organizations will need IPv6 address space to dual stack their services. They may either obtain IPv6 address space directly from an RIR, or obtain it from their Internet Service Provider. To connect to the IPv6 portions of the Internet, you will need to obtain connectivity natively from your service provider, or through another organization that provides IPv6 tunneling services. It is important going forward to make IPv6 support a consideration when making any new purchases of network equipment and software. To upgrade your services to support both IPv4 and IPv6 you may need to acquire new equipment or update what you currently have with firmware updates. It is important your IT staff be trained to support IPv6. Many will be able to self-train using already available resources, however formal training is available through training vendors if needed.
ARIN is running a wiki to facilitate IPv6 adoption discussions. Anyone is welcome to use the wiki. Many people have shared their IPv6 adoption information on the site and there are useful links and other resources available. Please share your adoption experiences by posting to the wiki.
In May of 2007 the ARIN Board of Trustees issued a resolution advising the Internet community on the transition to IPv6. The advisory recognizes the imminent depletion of IPv4 resources and advises organizations to adopt IPv6. The full text of the resolution is available at the provided link.
In April of 2009 the ARIN Board of Trustees directed ARIN staff to send a letter via certified mail to the CEO of every organization who currently holds an IPv4 registration in the ARIN region. The purpose of this effort is to raise executive awareness of the depletion of IPv4 resources and to encourage the active adoption of IPv6. This letter also serves as notification that, in response to the approaching depletion of the IPv4 free address pool, the Board has directed ARIN staff to take additional steps to ensure the legitimacy of all IPv4 address space requests. Beginning 18 May 2009, ARIN will require that all applications for IPv4 address space include an attestation of accuracy from an officer of the organization.
ARIN maintains an IPv6 information center and downloadable handout materials at the arin.net website. ARIN also maintains the IPv6 wiki at getipv6.info for your free use. You can become involved in the ARIN processes to ensure your Internet numbering needs are met and the entire community benefits from your important participation. Information is available at the provided links.