In today’s hyper-connected world, enterprises and consumers
alike are more dependent on technology than ever before. It’s
everywhere — as prevalent in our personal lives as our
professional ones. We are now accustomed to being constantly
connected; regularly demanding more sophisticated Internet-based
applications that run on a wide variety of devices from PCs to
tablets and smart phones. This prevalence of Internet applications
is one force driving organisations towards using the IPv6 internet
address protocol, as IPv6 provides a much greater number of
internet addresses compared to IPv4. And with unallocated IPv4
address space nearing exhaustion, the move to IPv6 provides the
means to ensure the future of IP based applications and the
Internet itself. However, if these applications are to be available
to the public, organisations need to ensure that their networks and
those of their network provider are ready to support them. So
what does a migration to IPv6 really mean and what are the
benefits?
IPv4 vs. IPv6
Historically, the driver for the transition to IPv6 has been the
depletion of IPv4 addresses. This is rapidly accelerating due to
the global expansion of Internet connectivity, particularly in
Asia. Current industry forecasts for exhaustion of the unallocated
IPv4 address space range from 2011 to 2014. In addition to the
address depletion, there’s growing recognition that IPv6 will
present significant opportunities for enterprises, as new wired and
wireless devices are developed around the world.
IPv6 is capable of handling many more Internet addresses to support
both today’s applications and those yet to come. It
will make it possible to increase the current 4 billion IPv4
addresses to roughly 340 trillion trillion trillion IPv6 addresses;
this is down to IPv6 using 128-bit addresses in comparison to only
32-bit used by IPv4. This abundance means that globally unique IPv6
addresses can be assigned to objects within an enterprise
environment, removing the need for private addressing, and
consequently eliminating the capital, operating costs and
complexity associated with deploying and maintaining Network
Address Translation (NAT) devices.
The road to long term growth,
scalability and cost reduction
Although some initial network and system investment may be
required, from an overall cost perspective IPv6 can help manage
— and potentially reduce — network and IT operating
expenses over time. For example, the auto-configuration feature
offered by IPv6 can help enterprises improve manageability and also
streamline network administration costs.
Potential cost benefits do not stop there. The local support for
mobility permits the seamless integration and management of a
mobile workforce into an enterprise. Plus IPv6 will enable the
continued deployment of multimedia collaborative systems, helping
enterprises obtain global greening and IT efficiency benefits by
reducing the need for travel - therefore reducing the carbon
footprint of the connected enterprise. What’s more, as both
public and private IP networks are moving toward the use of IPv6
technology, investment in IPv6 rather than existing IPv4
applications provides investment longevity, fuelling longer term
growth and scalability.
Opening new revenue streams and
greater communications potential
All indications are that IPv6 will open up additional revenue
streams through the development of newer, more sophisticated
products to meet the demands of the IPv6 user.
One of the most important value propositions of IPv6 is its role in
facilitating the emergence of the “Internet of Things”
— also sometimes called “machine to machine
communications” — a network interconnecting common
objects equipped with embedded miniaturized intelligence modules.
The enormous address space of IPv6 will enable support of smart
appliances, mobile devices and associated services that will
underpin the envisaged Internet of Things. In reality this means
that machine-to-machine transactions — conducted without any
human intervention — will be possible. In the connected
enterprise, this will give rise to improvements in operational
automation, productivity and efficiency.
Futurists have speculated the
Internet of Things could
potentially result in one of the largest transformations of human
civilization subsequent to the Industrial Revolution. This
evolution will represent a significant paradigm shift in the
telecommunications sector and will create ripple effects on other
industry segments. Because the number of objects that can be
connected to the IPv6 network is infinite, this advancement will
create unlimited market spaces for products and services that
support machine-to-machine interaction.
An obvious reason for organisations to migrate to IPv6 is the
potential to develop, support, and use the new and powerful
applications enabled by the technology. These include applications
such as sensor networks and telemetry applications for monitoring
remote objects (e.g, vending machines, utility meters, etc.);
streamlined battlefield communications, including access to
real-time information about equipment and personnel vehicle-based
applications, such as remote assistance and tracking capabilities,
including on-board diagnostics and inventory management and control
through integration with radio frequency identification (RFID)
systems.
IPv6 also enables the deployment and evolution of fourth generation
wireless networks such as 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), which will
substantially increase bandwidth capacity available to
end-users.
When is it the right time to
transition?
In light of technical developments and the benefits offered by
IPv6, one can argue that the transition to IPv6 is inevitable.
However, the basic dilemma confronting enterprises is not whether
to evolve to IPv6, but when and how to implement the
transition.
In essence, major communications carriers must deploy IPv6 in their
networks before their customers can take full advantage of its
benefits. Organizations should therefore turn to experienced
carriers that share their own commitment to IPv6 in order to
support their own migration process. Verizon, for example, made an
early commitment to evolve its global public and private IP
networks to support IPv6, and was one of the first carriers to
deploy IPv6 on its public IP backbone.
A key starting point for any organisation migrating to IPv6 is to
establish an overall company-wide strategy for a smooth IPv6
adoption. Generally, a phased transition plan will minimize
associated incremental costs and risks. Due diligence should
include considering what the IPv6 requirements will be in future
planned product replacements; ensuring that IPv6 compliance is
mandated when procuring new hardware and software; and most
importantly allocating investment for staff training and IPv6
competency development. Then, following this initial preparation,
an organisation can clearly determine which transition method is
right for its individual business.
IPv6 is the
future
IPv6 is no longer just a solution to IPv4 address depletion; it is
a driver for sophisticated new business models that could
transform, automate, and optimize the enterprise operating
environment. IPv6 can usher in new opportunities for the way people
do business and communicate. The key to harnessing this IPv6
potential is preparation, understanding, and developing a clear
path for making the initial move.
Chris Kimm is the VP, Network Field Operations Europe,
Middle East, Africa & Asia-Pacific at Verizon