Transition to IPv6
Preparing Your Network for the Future
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| Mandated by the federal government for compliance across all organizations, IPv6 is a new IP protocol designed to replace IPv4, the Internet protocol that is currently deployed and used most extensively throughout the world. |
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| Federal Agencies and the Transition to IPv6 |
| Because of the federal mandate to transition from IPv4 to IPv6, IT departments must include IPv6 as a core element of their current and future IT strategies. |
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Although migrating from IPv4 to IPv6 may be strategically and technically challenging, many organizations are actually more prepared to begin the transition than they may realize: much of the current IPv4 infrastructure is IPv6 capable, and approximately one-third of the deployed desktop systems are IPv6 capable. Additionally, a key part of the IPv6 design is its ability to integrate into and coexist with existing IPv4 networks, which means that-as anticipated-IPv4 can and will coexist for the foreseeable future. Because there is no single day on which a planned outage will occur and by which all network changes must be complete, with careful planning, federal agencies can conduct business as usual throughout the long transition process.
This white paper introduces several specific transition mechanisms and campus designs that can help federal agencies with the planning process. The mechanisms and campus designs discussed in this document are based on the Cisco High Availability Campus Design reference architectures.
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| IPv6 Migration at Cisco: Motivations and Process |
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Cisco, like many of its federal customers, is in the midst of a global migration from IPv4 to IPv6. The new version of IP, which Cisco has been working with since 1996, supports a much larger address space and enables new types of applications for communication and collaboration. With support for billions of addresses for every square meter on the planet’s surface, IPv6 dispels previous limits on the number of devices and sensors that Cisco can connect to its wired and wireless networks.
The new opportunity that IPv6 creates is deploying new types of applications for communication and collaboration that will create a competitive advantage. One plan at Cisco, for example, is to integrate IPv6-based environmental sensors and actuators into construction to create intelligent buildings that save energy costs. At the Department of Education, Director of Converged Communications Peter Tseronis envisions connecting to streaming video or a live video conference from his Blackberry or iPod. Cisco is beginning its transition to IPv6 now so that it can compile and share best practices with its federal government customers.
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| What Do I Need to Transition to IPv6? |
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The challenge of migration from an IPv4 network to a federally mandated IPv6 network is becoming a reality, and careful planning of your IPv6 transition will be critical to your success. To help you meet your goals for network migration, High Point Solutions provides a complete service offering, in which engineers can work with your team or partner to plan, design, implement, and optimize the foundational components of your IPv6 network.
High Point Solutions can first assess the implications of IPv6 for your environment, including product compliance, address provisioning and management, routing policies, security, and infrastructure design. This assessment also identifies opportunities to take advantage of IPv6 features and functionality to simplify your environment, as well as areas of risk to be considered during your transition to IPv6.
High Point Solutions can also analyze your architecture requirements from business, technical, and implementation perspectives. Services include requirements analysis, site survey and logical network design, physical network design, documentation, and creation of an acceptance test plan. High Point Solutions can facilitate smooth implementation activities through proven, written procedures and side-by-side coaching.
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| Make the Move to IPv6 with High Point Solutions |
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If you're ready to make the transition to IPv6 for your organization, High Point Solutions is ready to help. Please call us at now to speak to one of our specialists or to find our office please click here.
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