Brought to you by EarthWeb
IT Library Logo

Click Here!
Click Here!


Search the site:
 
EXPERT SEARCH -----
Programming Languages
Databases
Security
Web Services
Network Services
Middleware
Components
Operating Systems
User Interfaces
Groupware & Collaboration
Content Management
Productivity Applications
Hardware
Fun & Games

EarthWeb Direct EarthWeb Direct Fatbrain Auctions Support Source Answers

EarthWeb sites
Crossnodes
Datamation
Developer.com
DICE
EarthWeb.com
EarthWeb Direct
ERP Hub
Gamelan
GoCertify.com
HTMLGoodies
Intranet Journal
IT Knowledge
IT Library
JavaGoodies
JARS
JavaScripts.com
open source IT
RoadCoders
Y2K Info

Previous Table of Contents Next


6bone Trials

One of the important proving grounds of IPv6 is the 6bone, a testbed network spanning North America, Europe, and Japan, which began operating in 1996. The 6bone is a virtual network built on top of portions of today’s IPv4-based Internet, designed specifically to route IPv6 packets. The goal of this collaborative trial is to test IPv6 implementations and to define early policies and procedures that will be necessary to support IPv6 in the future. In addition, it will demonstrate IPv6’s new capabilities and will provide a basis for user confidence in the new protocol.

For most users, the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 will occur when the version of their host’s operating system software is updated; in some cases, it means running dual-stacked systems with both versions of IP. For larger user networks, it may make sense to follow the model of the larger global Internet--in particular, to predesign the IPv6 network topology and addressing scheme, to build a testbed IPv6 network with routers and a DNS, and then slowly to migrate applications, users, and subnetworks to the new backbone. The lessons learned from the 6bone activity are useful for individual networks as well as for the Internet backbone.

SUMMARY

The transition to IPv6 has already started, even though most Internet and TCP/IP users have not yet seen new software on their local systems or on local networks. Before IPv6 can be widely deployed, the network infrastructure must be upgraded to employ software that accommodates the new protocol.

In addition, the new address format must be accommodated by every TCP/IP protocol that uses addresses. The domain name system (DNS), for example, has defined an AAAA resource record for IPv6 128-bit addresses (IPv4’s 32-bit addresses use an A record) and the IP6.INT address domain (IPv4 uses the ARPA address domain). Other protocols that must be modified for IPv6 include dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP), the address resolution protocol (ARP) family, and IP routing protocols such as the routing information protocol (RIP), open shortest path first (OSPF) protocol, and the border gateway protocol (BGP). Only after the routers and the backbones are upgraded will hosts start to transition to the new protocol and applications be modified to take advantage of IPv6’s capabilities.

Appendix: The IPv6 Specifications

IPV6 CORE DESCRIPTION

IPv6 is specified in a number of RFCs. The core description of IPv6 and related protocols can be found in:

  RFC 1883: Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) Specification.
  RFC 1884: IP Version 6 Addressing Architecture.
  RFC 1885: Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMPv6) for the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6).
  RFC 1886: DNS Extensions to support IP version 6.

Other related RFCs include:

  RFC 1550: IP: Next-Generation (IPng) White Paper Solicitation.
  RFC 1726: Technical Criteria for Choosing IP: The Next Generation (IPng).
  RFC 1752: The Recommendation for the IP Next-Generation Protocol.
  RFC 1825: Security Architecture for the Internet Protocol.
  RFC 1826: IP Authentication Header.
  RFC 1827: IP Encapsulating Security Protocol (ESP).
  RFC 1828: IP Authentication using Keyed MD5.
  RFC 1829: The ESP DES-CBC Transform.
  RFC 1881: IPv6 Address Allocation Management.
  RFC 1887: An Architecture for IPv6 Unicast Address Allocation.
  RFC 1888: OSI NSAPs and IPv6.
  RFC 1897: IPv6 Testing Address Allocation.
  RFC 1970: Neighbor Discovery for IP Version 6 (IPv6).
  RFC 1971: IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration.
  RFC 1972: A Method for the Transmission of IPv6 Packets over Ethernet Networks.
  RFC 1981: Path MTU Discovery for IP version 6.
  RFC 2002: IP Mobility Support.
  RFC 2003: IP Encapsulation within PPP.
  RFC 2019: Transmission of IPv6 Packets Over FDDI.
  RFC 2023: IP Version 6 over PPP.
  RFC 2073: IPv6 Provider-Based Unicast Address Format.
  RFC 2080: RIPng for IPv6.
  RFC 2081: RIPng Protocol Applicability Statement.

RFCs may be obtained over the Internet via anonymous FTP from ftp://ds.internic.net/rfc. For additional sites and mechanisms to obtain RFCs, send E-mail to rfc-info@isi.edu and put help: ways_to_get_rfcs in the message body.


Previous Table of Contents Next

footer nav
Use of this site is subject certain Terms & Conditions.
Copyright (c) 1996-1999 EarthWeb, Inc.. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of EarthWeb is prohibited. Please read our privacy policy for details.