Friday, March 4, 2011

You can't hide from IPv6 much longer

This is the year that we run out of IPv4 addresses.  Many of my students have made signs of the cross and other similar reactions to the mention of IPv6, but it's coming.  Just like most major transitions in our IT world, we can try to put things off, but eventually we migrate.  Whether it's Windows 98 to Windows 2000, IPX/SPX to IPv4, or Ami Pro to Word (I know, I'm showing my age), eventually we migrate.  That said, if you haven't started thinking about your migration process from IPv4 to IPv6, it's time.  Here's a quote from a recently-released AT&T white paper on the subject, "For enterprises the transition to IPv6 will not happen overnight. The process takes thorough planning, preparation and execution. The number of “edges” and the depth of the network that must be IPv6–enabled will impact the complexity of the transition. Even a simple transition may take 6 months to implement."  The paper, IPv6:  Complete these five steps to prepare is an excellent starting point for you as you begin to think about your IPv4-IPv6 migration.  It requires registration, but it's a good enough paper that I think it's worth it to recommend to you.  What are your plans for migrating to IPv6?

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