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Feature Storyprotocols at CableLabs. “This is a very important technologyfor cable operators, and it is encouraging to see such a strongcommitment from the industry’s supply community.”However, according to Narayanaswamy, the barrier to supportIPv6 is not all that high for service providers. He says it’s typicallysimply a matter of the ISP selecting the IPv6 configurationoption on their existing gear.While many service providers have embraced IPv6, some majorenterprises and government agencies have only “dabbled”in IPv6, Narayanaswamy says, with governmental entities andglobal enterprise customers the most in tune with the pendingIPv4 exhaust. He adds that he’s unaware of any customer thathas made a wholesale move to IPv6.Voas says that because the size of the addresses and headers onpackets change with the move to IPv6, database cells may not be bigenough to support new longer addresses. For example, if an organizationuses a particular database to generate reports off of a securitydevice, those reports have fields in them designed for IPv4.“The push from the government is that they recognize convertingto v6 is not going to be a small effort, and they wantto get well ahead of the curve, they don’t want to get caught atthe end,” says Voas. “It takes time.”Cisco Systems, which has been a key company in the effort tomove this new addressing scheme forward, says that the U.S.,Brazil, France, Germany and Japan are among the countries“aggressively transitioning to IPv6.”While many service providers have embracedIPv6, some major enterprises and governmentagencies have only “dabbled” in IPv6.According to INTERNET TELEPHONY’s sources, governmentagencies are somewhat ahead of the curve in adoptingIPv6 given the federal government’s directive that all U.S.government agencies must upgrade their IT infrastructures tosupport the new addressing scheme.The deadline of the mandate has shifted over time, but around Juneof last year the government indicated it would no longer push backthis requirement, says Dennis Voas, manager for security solutionsat Enterasys Networks, a Siemens Enterprise CommunicationsCompany. (The company provides wired and wireless networkinfrastructure and security solutions. In December EnterasysNetworks announced the latest release of the Enterasys IntrusionPrevention Solution, which features patented distributed intrusionprevention technology that simultaneously addresses the widestvariety of network and host-based threats, now extends its networkprotection to enterprises deploying the IPv6 standard.)Michele Araujo, director of product management at Enterasys,adds that at first the mandate was for IPv6 compatible solutions,meaning that traffic had to be able to run over an IPv6with no inspection, but that it evolved to require networks beIPv6 addressable, meaning inspection must be included.Araujo and Voas agree with Narayanaswamy of Reliance Globalcomthat outside the federal government and service providers, thereseems to be very little sense of urgency around IPv6. But whileNarayanaswamy says that the move to IPv6 is no great shakes, atleast not for the service providers, the Enterasys employees indicatethat the change is a pretty big deal from a software point of view.“Government agencies, institutions and commercial companiesaround the world are committed to the operational deploymentand use of IPv6,” says Brad Boston, senior vice presidentof the global government solutions group at Cisco.The company, which says it has pioneered IPv6 technology since itsinception in 1996 and announced in November that it leads in totalUSGv6 certification for routers, switches and firewalls, is introducingnew features in its ASR 1000 Series routers, use cases, and professionalservices to help customers transition to IPv6. Additionally, Cisco notesit is the first technology vendor to be certified by the IPv6 Forum tooffer IPv6 education and certification for information technologyprofessionals. And it has developed IPv6 professional services to helpcustomers successfully transition to IPv6 with a portfolio designed tomeet customer needs throughout the network lifecycle, from planningand design to deployment and optimization.“Our leadership, attested by industry and government certifications,underscores an architectural commitment to IPv6 across theboard – from our devices to our applications and professional services,”says Boston. “Our unique knowledge and experience willhelp our customers move up to the next generation of networkingapplications and operating systems in order to dramaticallyenhance communication, collaboration and mobility.”Adds Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and generalmanager at Learning@Cisco: “The need for networking talentcapable of designing, managing and implementing IPv6will grow in importance as the availability of IPv4 networkaddresses is depleted.” ITGoTo:GoTo:46 INTERNET TELEPHONY ® February 2011 Table of Contents • Ad IndexSubscribe FREE online at www.itmag.com