IPv6 deployment
Encyclopedia
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6
) is the next generation of the Internet Protocol
that is currently in various stages of deployment on the Internet
. It was designed as a replacement for the current version, IPv4
, that has been in use since 1982 and is in the final stages of exhausting its unallocated address space.
In December 2008, despite marking its 10th anniversary as a Standards Track protocol, IPv6 still accounted for a minuscule fraction of the used addresses and the traffic in the publicly-accessible Internet which is still dominated by IPv4.. A study by Google
, reported in November 2008, indicated that penetration was still less than one percent of Internet traffic in any country. The leaders were Russia (0.76%), France (0.65%), Ukraine (0.64%), Norway (0.49%), and the United States (0.45%). Although Asia led in terms of absolute deployment numbers, the relative penetration was smaller (e.g., China: 0.24%).
In October 2011, 263 (85%) of the 294 top-level domain
s (TLDs) in the Internet supported IPv6 to access their domain name servers, and 234 (76%) zones contained IPv6 glue records, and approximately 3.4 million domains (3%) had IPv6 address records in their zones. Of all networks in the global BGP routing table, 12% have IPv6 protocol support.
All major operating systems in use as of 2011 on personal computers and server systems have production quality IPv6 implementations. Microsoft Windows
has supported IPv6 since Windows 2000
, and in production ready state beginning with Windows XP
. Windows Vista
and later have improved IPv6 support. Mac OS X Panther (10.3), Linux
2.6, FreeBSD
, and Solaris also have mature production implementations. Some implementations of the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file transfer protocol make use of IPv6 to avoid NAT issues common for IPv4 private networks.
Cellular telephone systems present a large deployment field for Internet Protocol devices as mobile telephone service is being transitioned from 3G
systems to next generation (4G
) technologies in which voice is provisioned as a Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) service. This mandates the use of IPv6 for such networks. In the U.S., cellular operator Verizon has released technical specifications for devices operating on its future networks. The specification mandates IPv6 operation according to the 3GPP Release 8 Specifications (March 2009) and deprecates IPv4 as an optional capability.
Increasingly, governments are starting to require support for IPv6 in new equipment. The U.S. government
, for example, specified in 2005 that the network backbones of all federal agencies had to be upgraded to IPv6 by June 30, 2008, which was completed before the deadline. The government of People's Republic of China
has a five-year plan
for deployment of IPv6 called the China Next Generation Internet
(see below). Official governmental decisions can serve to further encourage the private sector and other countries to migrate to IPv6 as well.
Major providers of Internet services, such as Google
, have also begun to implement IPv6 access into their products.
at least can receive IPv6 packets for their prefix.
The current integration of IPv6 on existing network infrastructures can also be monitored from other sources, for example:
(CNGI, 中国下一代互联网) project is a five-year plan initiated by the Chinese government with the purpose of gaining a significant position in the development of the Internet through the early adoption of IPv6. China showcased CNGI's IPv6 infrastructure during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, being the first time a major world event has had a presence on the IPv6 Internet (at http://ipv6.beijing2008.cn/en). At the time of the event, it was believed that the Olympics provided the largest showcase of IPv6 technology since the inception of IPv6. The deployment of IPv6 was widespread in all related applications, from data networking and camera transmissions for sporting events, to civil applications, such as security cameras and taxi
s. The events were streamed
live over the Internet and networked cars were able to monitor traffic
conditions readily, all network operations of the Games being conducted using IPv6.
Also, the CERNET
(China Education and Research NETwork, 中国教育和科研计算机网, 教育网) has set up native IPv6 (CERNET2), and since then many academic institutions in China have joined CERNET2 for IPv6 connectivity. CERNET-2 is probably the widest deployment of IPv6 in China. It is managed and operated jointly by 25 universities. Students in Shanghai Jiao Tong University
and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
, for example, get native IPv6.
Magyar Telekom
was running tests on its production environments since the beginning of 2009. Free customer trials started on November 2, 2009 for those on ADSL or Fiber Optic Customers are given a /128 via DHCP-ND unless they register their DUID in which case they receive a /56 - using a static configuration results in a single /64.
According to information on its homepage, UPC
Hungary will start deploying IPv6 in 2011, finishing it in 2012.
So far no other Hungarian ISP offers IPv6 connectivity.
has already set in motion the transition of its core IP network to IPv6, noting that it is now fully prepared even as the Internet runs out of IPv4 addresses. Globe claims it is the first local telecommunication company to test IPv6 with Department of Science and Technology (Philippines)
. In some cases, like test networks or users, IPv6 or both maybe present.
Operators offering native IPv6 access for business clients and collocation customers include:
, Facebook
, Yahoo, and Akamai Technologies
ensured their content was directly reachable by customers with IPv6 connectivity, without the need for whitelisting or special URLs. The event was described as a "test drive" for full IPv6 rollouts.
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
) is the next generation of the Internet Protocol
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol is the principal communications protocol used for relaying datagrams across an internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite...
that is currently in various stages of deployment on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. It was designed as a replacement for the current version, IPv4
IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4 is the fourth revision in the development of the Internet Protocol and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed. Together with IPv6, it is at the core of standards-based internetworking methods of the Internet...
, that has been in use since 1982 and is in the final stages of exhausting its unallocated address space.
In December 2008, despite marking its 10th anniversary as a Standards Track protocol, IPv6 still accounted for a minuscule fraction of the used addresses and the traffic in the publicly-accessible Internet which is still dominated by IPv4.. A study by Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, reported in November 2008, indicated that penetration was still less than one percent of Internet traffic in any country. The leaders were Russia (0.76%), France (0.65%), Ukraine (0.64%), Norway (0.49%), and the United States (0.45%). Although Asia led in terms of absolute deployment numbers, the relative penetration was smaller (e.g., China: 0.24%).
In October 2011, 263 (85%) of the 294 top-level domain
Top-level domain
A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
s (TLDs) in the Internet supported IPv6 to access their domain name servers, and 234 (76%) zones contained IPv6 glue records, and approximately 3.4 million domains (3%) had IPv6 address records in their zones. Of all networks in the global BGP routing table, 12% have IPv6 protocol support.
All major operating systems in use as of 2011 on personal computers and server systems have production quality IPv6 implementations. Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
has supported IPv6 since Windows 2000
Windows 2000
Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the...
, and in production ready state beginning with Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
. Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and later have improved IPv6 support. Mac OS X Panther (10.3), Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
2.6, FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
, and Solaris also have mature production implementations. Some implementations of the BitTorrent peer-to-peer file transfer protocol make use of IPv6 to avoid NAT issues common for IPv4 private networks.
Cellular telephone systems present a large deployment field for Internet Protocol devices as mobile telephone service is being transitioned from 3G
3G
3G or 3rd generation mobile telecommunications is a generation of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 specifications by the International Telecommunication Union...
systems to next generation (4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
) technologies in which voice is provisioned as a Voice over Internet Protocol
Voice over IP
Voice over Internet Protocol is a family of technologies, methodologies, communication protocols, and transmission techniques for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol networks, such as the Internet...
(VoIP) service. This mandates the use of IPv6 for such networks. In the U.S., cellular operator Verizon has released technical specifications for devices operating on its future networks. The specification mandates IPv6 operation according to the 3GPP Release 8 Specifications (March 2009) and deprecates IPv4 as an optional capability.
Increasingly, governments are starting to require support for IPv6 in new equipment. The U.S. government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
, for example, specified in 2005 that the network backbones of all federal agencies had to be upgraded to IPv6 by June 30, 2008, which was completed before the deadline. The government of People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
has a five-year plan
Five-Year Plans of China
The five-year plans of People's Republic of China are a series of economic development initiatives. The economy was shaped by the Communist Party of China through the plenary sessions of the Central Committee and national congresses...
for deployment of IPv6 called the China Next Generation Internet
China Next Generation Internet
The China Next Generation Internet project is a five year plan initiated by the Chinese government with the purpose of gaining a significant position in the future development of the Internet through the early adoption of IPv6.-Key CNGI goals:...
(see below). Official governmental decisions can serve to further encourage the private sector and other countries to migrate to IPv6 as well.
Major providers of Internet services, such as Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
, have also begun to implement IPv6 access into their products.
Deployment evaluation tools
A global view into the growing IPv6 routing tables can be obtained with the SixXS Ghost Route Hunter. This tool provides a list of all allocated IPv6 prefixes and marks with colors the ones that are actually being announced into the Internet BGP tables. When a prefix is announced, it means that the ISPInternet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
at least can receive IPv6 packets for their prefix.
The current integration of IPv6 on existing network infrastructures can also be monitored from other sources, for example:
- Regional Internet Registries (RIR) IPv6 Prefix Allocation
- IPv6 Transit services
- Japan ISP IPv6 services
IPv6 testing, evaluation, and certification
A few international organizations are involved with IPv6 test and evaluation ranging from the United States Department of Defense to the University of New Hampshire.- The US DoD Joint Interoperability Test Command DoD IPv6 Product CertificationDoD IPv6 Product Certification- Historical Testing Program :As of February 2009, the DoD ceased the requirement for IPv6-only testing for certification and entry into the Unified Capabilities Approved Products List...
Program - University of New Hampshire InterOperability LaboratoryUniversity of New Hampshire InterOperability LaboratoryThe University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory provides independent, broad-based interoperability and standards conformance testing for data, telecommunications and storage networking products and technologies...
involvement in the IPv6 Ready Logo Program http://www.ipv6ready.org - SATSIXSATSIXSATSIX is a demonstration of IPv6 integration of hybrid satellite and Wireless local loop and is funded by the Sixth Framework Programme through Information Society Technologies. The project will help in the implementation of the European Space Policy and the i2010 European Initiative...
Major milestones
| Year | Major development and availability milestones |
|---|---|
| 1996 | Alpha quality IPv6 support in Linux kernel Linux kernel The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software.... development version 2.1.8. |
| 6bone 6bone The 6bone was a testbed for Internet Protocol version 6; it was an outgrowth of the IETF IPng project that created the IPv6 protocols intended to eventually replace the current Internet network layer protocols known as IPv4... (an IPv6 virtual network for testing) is started. |
|
| 1997 | By the end of 1997 IBM IBM International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas... 's AIX 4.3 is the first commercial platform supporting IPv6. |
| Also in 1997, Early Adopter Kits for DEC's Digital Equipment Corporation Digital Equipment Corporation was a major American company in the computer industry and a leading vendor of computer systems, software and peripherals from the 1960s to the 1990s... operating systems, Tru64 and OpenVMS OpenVMS OpenVMS , previously known as VAX-11/VMS, VAX/VMS or VMS, is a computer server operating system that runs on VAX, Alpha and Itanium-based families of computers. Contrary to what its name suggests, OpenVMS is not open source software; however, the source listings are available for purchase... , are made available. |
|
| 1998 | Microsoft Research Microsoft Research Microsoft Research is the research division of Microsoft created in 1991 for developing various computer science ideas and integrating them into Microsoft products. It currently employs Turing Award winners C.A.R. Hoare, Butler Lampson, and Charles P... releases its first experimental IPv6 stack. This support is not intended for use in a production environment. |
| 1999 | In February, the IPv6 Forum is founded by the IETF Deployment WG to drive deployment worldwide. This results in the creation of regional and local IPv6 Task Forces. |
| 2000 | Production-quality BSD support for IPv6 becomes generally available in early to mid-2000 in FreeBSD FreeBSD FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant... , OpenBSD OpenBSD OpenBSD is a Unix-like computer operating system descended from Berkeley Software Distribution , a Unix derivative developed at the University of California, Berkeley. It was forked from NetBSD by project leader Theo de Raadt in late 1995... , and NetBSD NetBSD NetBSD is a freely available open source version of the Berkeley Software Distribution Unix operating system. It was the second open source BSD descendant to be formally released, after 386BSD, and continues to be actively developed. The NetBSD project is primarily focused on high quality design,... via the KAME project KAME project The KAME project was a joint effort of six organizations in Japan which aimed to provide a free IPv6 and IPsec protocol stack implementation for variants of the BSD Unix computer operating-system... . |
| Microsoft releases an IPv6 technology preview version for Windows 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... in March 2000. |
|
| Sun Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982... Solaris Solaris Operating System Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. It superseded their earlier SunOS in 1993. Oracle Solaris, as it is now known, has been owned by Oracle Corporation since Oracle's acquisition of Sun in January 2010.... supports IPv6 in Solaris 8 in February. |
|
| Compaq Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation is a personal computer company founded in 1982. Once the largest supplier of personal computing systems in the world, Compaq existed as an independent corporation until 2002, when it was acquired for US$25 billion by Hewlett-Packard.... ships IPv6 with Tru64. |
|
| 2001 | In January, Compaq ships IPv6 with OpenVMS. |
| Cisco Systems Cisco Systems Cisco Systems, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, that designs and sells consumer electronics, networking, voice, and communications technology and services. Cisco has more than 70,000 employees and annual revenue of US$... introduces IPv6 support on Cisco IOS Cisco IOS Cisco IOS is the software used on the vast majority of Cisco Systems routers and current Cisco network switches... routers and L3 switches. |
|
| HP introduces IPv6 with HP-UX HP-UX HP-UX is Hewlett-Packard's proprietary implementation of the Unix operating system, based on UNIX System V and first released in 1984... 11i v1. |
|
| On April 23, 2001, the European Commission European Commission The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.... launches the European IPv6 Task Force |
|
| 2002 | Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions... Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 Windows NT 4.0 is a preemptive, graphical and business-oriented operating system designed to work with either uniprocessor or symmetric multi-processor computers. It was the next release of Microsoft's Windows NT line of operating systems and was released to manufacturing on 31 July 1996... and Windows 2000 Windows 2000 Windows 2000 is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, business desktops, laptops, and servers. Windows 2000 was released to manufacturing on 15 December 1999 and launched to retail on 17 February 2000. It is the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and is the... SP1 have limited IPv6 support for research and testing since at least 2002. |
| Microsoft Windows XP Windows XP Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base... (2001) supports IPv6 for developmental purposes. In Windows XP SP1 (2002) and Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft, introduced on 24 April 2003. An updated version, Windows Server 2003 R2, was released to manufacturing on 6 December 2005... , IPv6 is included as a core networking technology, suitable for commercial deployment. |
|
| IBM z/OS Z/OS z/OS is a 64-bit operating system for mainframe computers, produced by IBM. It derives from and is the successor to OS/390, which in turn followed a string of MVS versions.Starting with earliest:*OS/VS2 Release 2 through Release 3.8... supports IPv6 since version 1.4 (generally availability in September 2002). |
|
| 2003 | Apple Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" Mac OS X v10.3 Mac OS X Panther is the fourth major release of Mac OS X, Apple’s desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X v10.2 "Jaguar" and preceded Mac OS X Tiger... (2003) supports IPv6 which is enabled by default. |
| 2004 | In July, ICANN ICANN The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly... announces that IPv6 address records for the Japan (jp) and Korea (kr) country code top-level domain nameservers are visible in the DNS root server zone files with serial number 2004072000. The IPv6 records for France (fr) are added later. This makes IPv6 DNS publicly operational. |
| 2005 | Linux Linux Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds... 2.6.12 removes experimental status from its IPv6 implementation. |
| 2007 | Microsoft Windows Vista Windows Vista Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs... (2007) supports IPv6 which is enabled by default. |
| Apple's AirPort Extreme 802.11n base station includes an IPv6 gateway in its default configuration. It uses 6to4 tunneling and manually configured static tunnels. (Note: 6to4 was disabled by default in later firmware revisions.) | |
| 2008 | On February 4, 2008, IANA adds AAAA records for the IPv6 addresses of six root name servers. With this transition, it is now possible to resolve domain names using only IPv6. |
| On March 12, 2008, Google Google Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program... launches a public IPv6 web interface to its popular search engine at the URL http://ipv6.google.com. |
|
| On March 12, 2008, IETF does an hour long IPv4 blackout at its meeting as an opportunity to capture informal experience data to inform protocol design work going forward; this led to many fixes in operating systems and applications. | |
| On May 27, 2008, the European Commission European Commission The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.... publish their Action Plan for the deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in Europe, with the aim of making IPv6 available to 25% of European users by 2010. |
|
| 2009 | In January 2009, Google extends its IPv6 initiative with Google over IPv6, which offers IPv6 support for Google services to compatible networks. |
| 2011 | On June 8, 2011 the Internet Society Internet Society The Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy... together with several other big companies and organizations held World IPv6 Day World IPv6 Day World IPv6 Day was an event sponsored and organized by the Internet Society and several large content providers to test public IPv6 deployment. It was announced on January 12, 2011 with five anchoring companies: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Akamai Technologies, and Limelight Networks. The event started... , a global 24 hour test of IPv6. |
Australia
- AARNetAARNetAARNet or Australian Academic and Research Network offers Internet services to the Australian education and research communities and their research partners.AARNet is a not-for-profit company limited by shares...
recently completed a new network, AARNet 3. It is a high-speed network connecting academic and research customers in the major metropolitan centres, with international links to major ISPs in the US, Asia, and Europe. One of the design goals was to support both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols equally. It also supports multicastIP MulticastIP multicast is a method of sending Internet Protocol datagrams to a group of interested receivers in a single transmission. It is often employed for streaming media applications on the Internet and private networks. The method is the IP-specific version of the general concept of multicast...
routing and jumbo frames. - IPv6 Now Pty Ltd introduced the first commercial-grade IPv6 tunnel broker service in Australia on April 30, 2008. Also, in June 2008, IPv6Now introduced the first dual stacked (IPv4 & IPv6) web hosting service.
- InternodeInternode SystemsInternode, founded on 8 May 1991 by Managing Director Simon Hackett, is an Australian Internet Service Provider . The company focuses primarily on ADSL-based Internet access, but also provides business-class access , web hosting, co-location, Voice over IP, and a variety of related...
is the first commercial ISP in Australia to have full IPv6 connectivity, and are currently making IPv6 available to customers. The availability to customers was officially announced to WhirlpoolWhirlpool (website)Whirlpool is an Australian broadband user web site, started in 1998 by founder, Simon Wright. Since then, it has grown significantly with over 450,000 registered users while remaining independent.-History:...
on July 18, 2008. - The Victorian State Government has granted $A350,000 to establish an IPv6 testbed network (VIC6) freely available to industry to evaluate their IPv6 products and strategies.
- TelstraTelstraTelstra Corporation Limited is an Australian telecommunications and media company, building and operating telecommunications networks and marketing voice, mobile, internet access and pay television products and services....
announced on the 5th of September 2011 their backbone network to be fully double-stacked and that they have commenced providing its enterprise, government and wholesale customers with IPv6 connectivity. They will be working with individual customers who have expressed an interest in moving to IPv6 to help them through that transition.
Belgium and the Netherlands
- On July 13. 2010, native IPv6IPv6Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
over UMTS/GPRS was successfully tested in Belgium and The Netherlands within a vehicle platform as an Intelligent transportation systemIntelligent transportation systemThe term intelligent transportation systems refers to information and communication technology that improve transport outcomes such as transport safety, transport productivity, travel reliability, informed travel choices, social equity, environmental performance and network operation...
solution. The test was performed both in gsm and in tethering mode using a NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
smart-phone. This test was performed by Logica Netherlands with in the SPITS project, in cooperation with MobistarMobistarMobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
Belgium.
Canada
- Fibrenoire, a Canadian Metro Ethernet fiber network operating in Quebec and Ontario, has been providing native IPv6 connectivity since 2009.
- TekSavvy is currently deploying their own IPv6 network to customers as a Beta.
- Videotron is currently deploying their own IPv6 network to customers as a beta service
China
The China Next Generation InternetChina Next Generation Internet
The China Next Generation Internet project is a five year plan initiated by the Chinese government with the purpose of gaining a significant position in the future development of the Internet through the early adoption of IPv6.-Key CNGI goals:...
(CNGI, 中国下一代互联网) project is a five-year plan initiated by the Chinese government with the purpose of gaining a significant position in the development of the Internet through the early adoption of IPv6. China showcased CNGI's IPv6 infrastructure during the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, being the first time a major world event has had a presence on the IPv6 Internet (at http://ipv6.beijing2008.cn/en). At the time of the event, it was believed that the Olympics provided the largest showcase of IPv6 technology since the inception of IPv6. The deployment of IPv6 was widespread in all related applications, from data networking and camera transmissions for sporting events, to civil applications, such as security cameras and taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
s. The events were streamed
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
live over the Internet and networked cars were able to monitor traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
conditions readily, all network operations of the Games being conducted using IPv6.
Also, the CERNET
Cernet
The China Education and Research Network is the first nationwide education and research computer network in China. The CERNET project is funded by the Chinese government and directly managed by the Chinese Ministry of Education...
(China Education and Research NETwork, 中国教育和科研计算机网, 教育网) has set up native IPv6 (CERNET2), and since then many academic institutions in China have joined CERNET2 for IPv6 connectivity. CERNET-2 is probably the widest deployment of IPv6 in China. It is managed and operated jointly by 25 universities. Students in Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Shanghai Jiao Tong University or SJTU), sometimes referred to as Shanghai Jiaotong University , is a top public research university located in Shanghai, China. Shanghai Jiao Tong University is known as one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in China...
and Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications
The Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications was founded as The Beijing Institute of Posts and Telecommunications in 1955. It was created under the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Communications Department of the General Staff Department of the People's Liberation Army...
, for example, get native IPv6.
Germany
- M-Net, a regional carrier and ISP, offers an IPv6 PoP and native IPv6 (currently beta, add @v6.mnet-online.de to your username) for their customers.
- The 6WIN backbone network by the JOIN Team offers full native IPv6 support for their participants. Many scientific networks in Germany, like the Munich Scientific Network (MWN)http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/wir/intro/en/#mwn operated by Leibniz-RechenzentrumLeibniz-RechenzentrumThe Leibniz Supercomputing Centre is an European supercomputing centre in Garching near Munich. The centre provides supercomputer resources for research and access to the Munich Scientific Network ; it is connected to the Deutsches Forschungsnetz with a 10 Gbit/s link...
, are connected to this network. - According to a a list maintained by the SiXXS project, there are about seven providers who offer native IPv6 or combined native IPv6/native IPv4-connectivity over the T-DSL network at the end of 2009.
- Deutsche TelekomDeutsche TelekomDeutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....
is working on an IPv6 rollout at the end of 2011.
Finland
- FICORA (Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority), the NICDomain name registryA domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...
for the .fi.fi.fi is the Internet country code top-level domain for Finland. It is operated by FICORA, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority....
top level domain, has added IPv6 address to DNS servers, and allows entering IPv6 address when registering domains. The registration service for new domains is planned to be available over IPv6 at the beginning of year 2011. - Nebula, a Finnish ISP offers IPv6 access since 2007
France
- AFNIC, the NICDomain name registryA domain name registry is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a network information center , is the part of the Domain Name System of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert...
for (among others) the .fr.fr.fr is the country code top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet for France. Along with .re and .tf, it is administered by AFNIC.The .fr top-level domain is divided into a number of second-level domains:...
Top Level Domain, has implemented IPv6 operations. - RenaterRenaterRENATER Deployed at the beginning of the 1990’s, RENATER provides a national and international connectivity...
, the French national academical network, is offering IPv6 connectivity including multicast support to their members. - Free, a major French ISP, rolled-out IPv6 at end of year 2007.
- Nerim, a small ISP, provides native IPv6 for all its clients since March 2003.
- Orange has done IPv6 experimentation, official support is still unclear.
- OVHOVHOVH is a privately owned web hosting service company in France that provides dedicated servers, mutual hosting, domain names and VOIP telephony services. The company is a Société par actions simplifiée under French law and its headquarters are in Roubaix in northern France...
has implemented IPv6. - FDN, a small associative ISP, has been providing native IPv6 since November 2008.
Hungary
In Hungary Externet was the first ISP starting deploying IPv6 on its network in 2008 August. The service was commercially available since 2009 May.Magyar Telekom
Magyar Telekom
Magyar Telekom Nyrt. is Hungary's largest telecommunications company. The former monopolist is now a fully consolidated subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom....
was running tests on its production environments since the beginning of 2009. Free customer trials started on November 2, 2009 for those on ADSL or Fiber Optic Customers are given a /128 via DHCP-ND unless they register their DUID in which case they receive a /56 - using a static configuration results in a single /64.
According to information on its homepage, UPC
UPC
-Companies:* United Pan-Europe Communications, a European provider of cable television, telephone and broadband content owned by Liberty Global-Technology:* Universal Product Code * Unified Parallel C* Uniform Plumbing Code* Uplink Power Control...
Hungary will start deploying IPv6 in 2011, finishing it in 2012.
So far no other Hungarian ISP offers IPv6 connectivity.
India
- Department of Telecommunications, of Government of India is running a program for adoption of IPv6 in the Government network.
- TEC (Telecommunication Engineering Center) is writing specification for IPv6 certification.
- Sify Technologies Limited, a private Internet service provider, rolled out IPv6 in 2005. Sify has a dual-stack network that supports commercial services on IPv6 transport for its enterprise customers. Sify is a sponsored member of 6Choice, a project by India-Europe cooperation to promote IPv6 adoption. Sify is the first to launch a dual-stack commercial portal http://sify.com,. Users were notified about the version of IP they use when they are accessing the front-page.
Japan
- Telecommunications company NTTNippon Telegraph and Telephone, commonly known as NTT, is a Japanese telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked the 31st in Fortune Global 500, NTT is the largest telecommunications company in Asia, and the second-largest in the world in terms of revenue....
announces itself as the world's first ISP to offer public availability of IPv6 services in March 2000.
Luxembourg
- RESTENA, the national research and education network, has been running IPv6 for a number of years. It is connected to the European GEANTGEANTGÉANT is the main European multi-gigabit computer network for research and education purposes...
2 network. In addition, it runs one of the country Internet exchanges, which supports IPv6 peering. RESTENA also runs the .lu top level domain, which also supports IPv6. - P&T Luxembourg, main telecom and Internet service providers, has announced they have production quality IPv6 connectivity since January 2009, with the first professional customers being connected as of September 2009. Deployment of IPv6 to residential customers is expected to take place in 2010.
Netherlands
- SURFnetSURFnetSURFnet is both the name for the organisation that develops, implements and maintains the national research and education network of the Netherlands as well as the network it operates. As one of the first networks linked to the Internet outside the USA the organisation has taken the lead in the...
, maintainer of the Dutch academical network SURFnet, introduced IPv6 to its network 1997, in the beginning using IPv6-to-IPv4 tunnels. Currently its backbone is entirely running dual-stack, supporting both native IPv4 and IPv6 to most of its users. - XS4AllXS4ALLXS4ALL is the third-oldest Internet service provider in the Netherlands, after NLnet and SURFnet. However, XS4ALL was the first company to offer Internet access to individuals, since 1993...
is a major Dutch ISP. In 2002 XS4All was the first Dutch broadband provider to introduce IPv6 to its network, but it has only been experimental. In May 2009 the provider provided the first native IPv6 DSL connections. As of August 2010 native IPv6 DSL connections became available to almost all their customers. - Business-orientated Internet provider BIT BV has been providing IPv6 to all their customers (DSL, FTTH, colocated) since 2004.
- SixXS has two private Dutch founders and has been partnering with IPv6 Internet service providers in many countries to provide IPv6 connectivity via IP tunnels to users worldwide since 2000. It started out as IPng.nl with a predominantly Dutch user base and reorganized as SixXS to be able to reach users internationally and be diversified in ISP support. SixXS also provides various other related services and software which contributed significantly to IPv6 adoption and operation globally.
- Business ISP Introweb provides an IPv6-only 8 Mbit/s ADSL connection for 6 euro per month to 100 customers as a pilot, both for companies to learn how to adapt to IPv6 as for themselves in working on a fully IPv6 enabled network.
- Signet is the first ISP in the country which provides IPv6 connectivity together with IPv4 on multiple national fiber networks (Eurofiber, Glasvezel Eindhoven, BRE, Glasnet Veghel, Ziggo, and Fiber Port).
- Most Dutch hosting companies, including the biggest one, Leaseweb, support IPv6, but customers by default get only IPv4 address.
- Several government sites (such as Rijksoverheid.nl) are available via IPv6.
- On July 13. 2010, native IPv6IPv6Internet Protocol version 6 is a version of the Internet Protocol . It is designed to succeed the Internet Protocol version 4...
over UMTS/GPRS was successfully tested in Belgium and The Netherlands within a vehicle platform as an Intelligent transportation systemIntelligent transportation systemThe term intelligent transportation systems refers to information and communication technology that improve transport outcomes such as transport safety, transport productivity, travel reliability, informed travel choices, social equity, environmental performance and network operation...
solution. The test was performed both in gsm and in tethering mode using a NokiaNokiaNokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
smart-phone. This test was performed by Logica Netherlands with in the SPITS project, in cooperation with MobistarMobistarMobistar is the second largest of Belgium's three mobile telecommunications operators. It competes with Proximus, owned by Belgian state owned telco Belgacom, and Base, a subsidiary of Dutch KPN.-History:...
Belgium.
Philippines
The government is in process of upgrading its facilities. Globe TelecomGlobe Telecom
Globe Telecom , commonly known as Globe, is a telecommunications company in the Philippines. Globe provides mobile, fixed line, and broadband Internet services.- History :In 1928, Congress passed Act No...
has already set in motion the transition of its core IP network to IPv6, noting that it is now fully prepared even as the Internet runs out of IPv4 addresses. Globe claims it is the first local telecommunication company to test IPv6 with Department of Science and Technology (Philippines)
Department of Science and Technology (Philippines)
The Philippines' Department of Science and Technology , abbreviated as the DOST, is the executive department of the Philippine Government responsible for the coordination of science and technology-related projects in the Philippines and to formulate policies and projects in the fields of science...
. In some cases, like test networks or users, IPv6 or both maybe present.
Poland
- The Polish national research and education network began a IPv6 trial period in 2002. As for now native IPv6 connectivity is available to numerous educational and private clients connected via citywide networks operated by local universities.
- Polish Internet Exchange, a commercial and carrier-neutral Internet traffic exchange point, has facilitated IPv6 peering between numerous operators since 2008.
Romania
- In October 2011, the ISP named RCS&RDSRCS&RDSRCS&RDS is the largest Romanian cable and internet provider, offering nationwide satellite television, cable television, cable internet, VOIP, and 3G services...
started trials of its dual stack IPv4/IPv6 PPPoE services to current home users. Official support for Microsoft Windows Vista and 7, Linux and other IPv6-ready devices is offered.
Sweden
- BahnhofBahnhofBahnhof is a Swedish Internet service provider founded in 1994 by Oscar Swartz in Uppsala and was the first independent ISP in Sweden. Today the company is represented in Stockholm, Göteborg, Uppsala, Borlänge, and Lund....
offers IPv6 to both consumers and businesses.
Operators offering native IPv6 access for business clients and collocation customers include:
- Tele2Tele2Tele2 AB is a major European telecommunications operator, with about 34 million customers in 11 countries. It serves as a fixed-line telephone operator, cable television provider, mobile phone operator and Internet service provider.- Overview :...
- Phonera
United Kingdom
- JANETJANETJANET is a private British government-funded computer network dedicated to education and research. All further- and higher-education organisations in the UK are connected to JANET, as are all the Research Councils; the majority of these sites are connected via 20 metropolitan area networks JANET...
, the UK's education and research network, is introducing IPv6 unicast support into its service level agreement by August 2008. Several major UK universities (e.g., CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
) are upgrading their campus routing infrastructure during summer 2008 to provide IPv6 unicast support to their users. - Andrews & ArnoldAndrews & ArnoldAndrews & Arnold Ltd is an Internet service provider based in Bracknell in the United Kingdom founded in 1997 and launched in 1998, primarily serving businesses and "technical" home users....
launched a native (non-tunneled) IPv6 service in October 2005. and offer IPv6 by default - The UK Government is intending to replace much of its Wide Area NetworkWide area networkA wide area network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area . Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations...
with a new Public Sector Network (PSN) starting in late 2009. The PSN will be based on IPv6. - Claranet provide IPv6 services across its network footprint. Tagadab, its hosting arm, offers IPv6 connectivity for server hosting services.
- BitFolk offers native IPv6 connectivity on all VPS hosting plans
United States
- ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
, a cable InternetCable internetIn telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
provider, has started IPv6 pilot market deployment. - As with IPv4, the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
holds a larger IPv6 allocation than any other entity, a /13 block, enough to create almost 9 trillion local area networks, and 64 times as many as the next largest entity. - Hurricane ElectricHurricane ElectricHurricane Electric is a global Internet backbone , with a specific focus on IPv6. Hurricane Electric operates datacenters in the San Francisco Bay Area, primarily within the city of Fremont...
(AS6939), a Fremont, CaliforniaFremont, CaliforniaFremont is a city in Alameda County, California. It was incorporated on January 23, 1956, from the merger of five smaller communities: Centerville, Niles, Irvington, Mission San Jose, and Warm Springs...
Internet backbone and colocation provider, was an early IPv6 adopter and maintains a native IPv6 backbone and is one of the largest IPv6 connectivity and hosting providers in the United States. It was the first IPv6 backbone operator in the world to reach 200 IPv6 BGP adjacencies. Through its IPv6 tunnel brokerTunnel brokerIn the context of computer networking, a tunnel broker is a service which provides a network tunnel. These tunnels can provide encapsulated connectivity over existing infrastructure to a new infrastructure....
service, Hurricane also provides free IPv6 connectivity to users in the United States and in several other countries. - Sonic.net, a Santa Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa, CaliforniaSanta Rosa is the county seat of Sonoma County, California, United States. The 2010 census reported a population of 167,815. Santa Rosa is the largest city in California's Wine Country and fifth largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont and 26th...
-based Internet provider, offers partial support for IPv6. They assign a /60 to any customer requesting address space and deliver the IPv6 packets over a 6in46in46in4 is an Internet transition mechanism for migrating from Internet Protocol version 4 to IPv6. 6in4 uses tunneling to encapsulate IPv6 traffic over explicitly-configured IPv4 links as defined in RFC 4213 . The 6in4 traffic is sent over the IPv4 Internet inside IPv4 packets whose IP headers have...
tunnel. The RDNS authoritative servers for the assigned IPv6 space do answer IPv6 requests, but the recursive DNSDomain name systemThe Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
servers provided for customer use are IPv4-only. - AT&T started testing their networks with IPv6 back in 2006. AT&T also participated in World IPv6 Day.
Other countries
- BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
has constructed a research center to study the possibilities of adopting IPv6 in the country. The center is to operate alongside another facility, which is equipped with an IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
Blue Gene/P supercomputer. - New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
ISP Worldxchange Communications has started providing residential customers with dual (IPv4 and IPv6) service using DHCPv6, on a trial basis. - AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
AnwarNet (www.anwarnet.dz); AfriNIC has allocated range of IPv6 address space to AnwarNet. AnwarNet started the IPV6 services in 2011.
World IPv6 Day
The Internet Society promoted June 8, 2011, as "World IPv6 Day". Major content providers such as GoogleGoogle
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, Yahoo, and Akamai Technologies
Akamai Technologies
Akamai Technologies, Inc. is an Internet content delivery network headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.The company was founded in 1998 by then-MIT graduate student Daniel M. Lewin, and MIT Applied Mathematics professor Tom Leighton...
ensured their content was directly reachable by customers with IPv6 connectivity, without the need for whitelisting or special URLs. The event was described as a "test drive" for full IPv6 rollouts.
External links
- Geoff Huston - An Update on IPv6 Deployment (RIPE 56)
- Virtual China: IPv6: China's next generation Internet
- China Reaps Big Fruits for Future Internet
- Hurricane Electric - Global IPv6 Deployment Progress Report
- NetKnowledge.ca - IPv6 deployment statistics in 2009, a BGP perspective
- Foundation for National Scientific Computing - Is Global IPv6 Deployment on Track?
- IPv6 Test Site
- Alternate IPv6 Test Site