IPv6: The missing link

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: OPTICAL NETWORKING
08/24/05

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* The question goes unanswered for most IT execs
* Links related to Optical Networking
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Ciena
NetworkWorld Special Report - The Adaptive WAN: The factors
driving WAN evolution

A combination of business and technology trends are changing the
demands on the enterprise WAN. This NetworkWorld Special Report
explores some of the key business and technology trends that are
driving and enabling the evolution of the enterprise WAN and how
the enterprise WAN can become adaptive to support these trends.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110883
_______________________________________________________________
THE ROI OF VOIP

When it comes to VoIP, most network managers are satisfied that
the technology works. But there are questions: What will the new
technology cost to roll out and support, and what benefits can
companies expect to reap? Check out NW's step-by-step guide on
how to determine the true cost and benefits of VoIP. Click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110690
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: IPv6: The missing link

By Sandra Gittlen

As advanced IP applications make their way onto corporate
networks, researchers and service providers hope to see a
corresponding move to IPv6, the long-suffering replacement to
IPv4.

Yet pilot projects aimed at proving IPv6's mettle haven't shown
how the protocol can propel businesses to a paradise full of
advanced IP applications. Application work has been secondary to
infrastructure tests.

At the Moonv6 test bed, for example, researchers have conducted
detailed tests of the IPv6 routing protocol and the
Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet but have not yet tackled
advanced applications, says Ben Schultz, managing engineer at
the University of New Hampshire Interoperability Lab, in Durham.
UNH administers the Moonv6 test bed, which is a collaboration
among the Internet2 university consortium, the North American
IPv6 Task Force and the U.S. Department of Defense. IPv6,
developed by the IETF, touts IPSec and simple administration for
tight security and, with its 128-bit address space, supports an
almost unlimited amount of uniquely identified systems on the
Internet.

While Schultz acknowledges a lack of advanced application
development geared toward IPv6 today, he says he's looking
forward to testing real-time collaboration tools and other
applications to show how IPv6 will perform. Application work at
the Moonv6 test bed to date has centered on running streaming
media unicast and multicast applications across the network, he
says.

Lessons learned and deployment tips from advanced application
testing might help turn the tide for IPv6 adoption in business,
where the protocol is still seen as a down-the-road technology.

"We've done some research on IPv6," says Vijay Sankaran, manager
of enterprise technology for Ford Motor's IT Group in Dearborn,
Mich. "But it's still undetermined where the protocol will
play."

IPv6 is "more efficient for the routing of messages and being
able to know who your endpoint address is," says Sankaran, a
member of the IPv6 Business Council. But, he adds, "everything
we do for our business needs a core driver. And one thing we've
been struggling with is that while this packet header can have
additional information on it, we haven't found the applications
that would have us invest money to go to an IPv6 network."

With limited resources, Ford would rather focus on rolling out a
comprehensive wireless fabric around the campus, he says. That
has a much higher value potential in the short term than IPv6,
he adds.

IPv6's unlimited addressing would have worked well for Saugus
Union School District as it rolled out VoIP, says Jim Klein,
director of Information Services and Technology for the Saugus,
Calif., organization. Network Address Translation (NAT), used to
assign IP addresses to the VoIP phones, gets tricky when calling
outside the organization, he says. With IPv6, each IP phone
would have a unique address that would expand the capabilities
of the VoIP system. Yet rather than working with IPv6, Klein
created a suitable workaround for the problem.

Ultimately, such a workaround won't be an option. True advanced
IP networks require IPv6, Klein says.

Phil Edholm, CTO and vice president of network architecture for
Nortel's enterprise division, says: "Some applications, like
voice over IP, just don't have the ability to do port mapping,
so having individual IP addresses is important." Real-time
collaboration, such as presence-aware instant messaging for
employees, will require IPv6. "What's going to drive IPv6 is the
need for constant connections. You can't have NAT in the
middle."

Minus compelling evidence on application performance, that
leaves IPv6 as a natural progression for many IT executives - a
technology they get as they replace core gear with IPv6-enabled
products. Already, major vendors, such as Cisco and Juniper
Networks, are prepping and releasing IPv6-ready switches and
routers, while Microsoft promises IPv6 support in its newest
operating system.

But management, applications, middleware and security
infrastructure required for most production networks are still
missing, reports the IPv6 Forum.

Still, IPv6 advocates won't be derailed from their "deploy IPv6
now" mantra. IPv6 is critical to reaching an advanced IP
paradise because of the billions of devices that will be
deployed, they say. "The real issue is how many things can you
put on the 'Net and distinctly address. Scaling puts a great
challenge on the address space," says Vint Cerf, senior vice
president of technology strategy at MCI. "Rather than waiting
and having a crisis, let's move to IPv6 now."

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco preparing management play
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5783>

2. IT staff shortage looming
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5330>

3. Questions surround smartphone security
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5784>

4. Google goes berserk
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5328>

5. CLECs play a new tune
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5785>

Today's most-forwarded story:

IT staff shortage looming
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5786>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Sandra Gittlen

Sandra Gittlen, former events editor at Network World, is a
technology editor in Northboro, Mass. You can reach her at
<mailto:sgittlen@charter.net>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Ciena
NetworkWorld Special Report - The Adaptive WAN: The factors
driving WAN evolution

A combination of business and technology trends are changing the
demands on the enterprise WAN. This NetworkWorld Special Report
explores some of the key business and technology trends that are
driving and enabling the evolution of the enterprise WAN and how
the enterprise WAN can become adaptive to support these trends.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=110882
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Optical Networking newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/optical/index.html
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
IT STAFF SHORTAGE LOOMING

Outsourcing. Automation. Downsizing. The industry has been awash
in unemployed IT pros. But experts are now predicting an IT
staffing crunch is just around the corner, and the implications
for U.S. technology innovation are sobering. What might be
causing the shortage and what might need to be done to prevent
it? Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nloptical5787>
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