 "'Interoperability, Security Issues Are Deterring IPv6 Adoption'")
As global enterprises stand on the brink of IPv4 address exhaustion and the preparedness for migration to IPv6, security concerns related to the latter and the challenges of the migration remain to be addressed. Biztech2.com speaks to Shridhar Luthria-Manager, Channel Development ResellerClub, Directi to find out more about the migration to IPv6.
What is IPv6 all about?
The current Internet protocol, IPv4, is running out of IPs and is predicted to be completely depleted by 2012*. IPv6 is the next-generation protocol, which is meant to replace IPv4 and also work as an upgrade for the entire Internet as a whole. IPv6 is a huge step up from IPv4 in terms of space available. An IPv4 address has 32 bits where as IPv6 has 128 bits, so in comparison if IPv4 was a golf ball, IPv6 would be close to the size of the sun.
With IPv6, the Internet will be able to grow to millions of times its current size, in terms of the numbers of people, devices and objects connected to it. India is expected to face a severe shortage of IPv4 addressing space in the near future if timely action is not taken to migrate from IPv4 to IPv6.
How important is it to move from IPv4 to IPv6? What would this transition entail?
The importance of moving to IPv6 is something that will not be felt on an immediate basis. However, it is important as thinking about it in advance will pave the way for a smoother transition as opposed to a forced and hurried one.
As we all already know, IPv6 consists of more addresses and the IPv4 available pool is dropping at a tremendous rate. There will come a point in time when IPv4 addresses will no longer be available and at that point, those who are IPv6 ready will not be shaken up while those who haven’t prepared for it will have to incur increased costs. Consumers in turn will see a drop in quality of services and will have to wait for providers to catch up and settle for work-arounds till then.
What change of the IT infrastructure would be required to move from IPv4 to IPv6?
Various changes in the IT infrastructure during the transition would include hardware and software changes and even training of existing staff. The transition has to be done through a natural upgrade cycle as it is a common notion that shifting over a short period will end up being expensive. Once IPv4 addresses are exhausted, the cost for IPv6-enabled infrastructure will be hiked and purchasing such hardware/ software will become relatively expensive.
What will be the challenges while driving IPv6 adoption?
The biggest challenge is the lack of awareness and therefore, the lag in demand for IPv6. The interoperability issue is also one of the main factors that has deterred the adoption of IPv6 in India and across the globe. The inability of IPv6 to support IPv4 has led to the creation of work-arounds such as tunneling, which to a certain extent is considered counter-productive. These mechanisms allow providers to support IPv6 and still offer IPv4 to customers while they wait for the mass market to catch up on IPv6. The more people know about IPv6, the more they will demand it and with a greater demand, there will be an increase in the drive for this business.
Another reason for the slow adoption of IPv6 could also be the lack of knowledge and the fact that system administrators are comfortable with IPv4 and its functionalities. Conclusively, two of the largest reasons are a lack of demand from the end user and the comfort with NAT (Network Address Translation). System administrators and companies are happy with the control and restrictions they can apply through NAT and are not necessarily willing to give that up.
How can these challenges be overcome? Can you share a step-by-step process for the same?
The only way to counter these challenges is to increase awareness. If ISPs and other providers take an active interest in IPv6 and begin taking the necessary steps towards being IPv6 ready, the general market will also move with them. At the same time, the awareness and demand from the mass market needs to increase to help make a strong business case for companies to transition to IPv6.
Are Indian enterprises in the league of those looking at this shift?
In India, government bodies like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the IPv6 Programme Implementation Group (IPIG) have been instrumental in raising awareness about IPv6. BSNL’s National Internet Backbone is IPv6 ready and VSNL is one of the largest IPv6 ISPs in the world, so thanks to prompt action from the governing bodies, we do seem like we are on the right track for IPv6. However, I don’t believe the general market is ready for IPv6 yet. So there is a definite need for IT managers to give a thought to the current status of their IT infrastructures and start making the necessary upgrades or changes.
If this transition is not made, what would the consequences be?
As I mentioned before, the consequences will not be felt on an immediate basis. Once IPv4 addresses are exhausted, all requests for IP addresses will be catered to through IPv6 only. If providers are not IPv6 ready, they will have to get up to mark in a short time span and would hence, face a monumental cost to upgrade the infrastructure. The only other option will be to offer work-arounds like NAT, which will only lead to a drop in the quality of service. From the customer’s perspective, once IPv4 has run out they will flock to those who are IPv6 ready. If the customer is not willing to change providers, they will have to either settle for work-arounds or wait till their provider is IPv6-ready.
The bottom line is that IPv4 addresses are running out. The decision that companies need to make is when to shift to IPv6.
Arbor’s fifth annual Worldwide Infrastructure Security Report states that the Internet is not IPv6-ready. It also mentions that there are security issues associated with IPv6. What are your thoughts on this?
As the report mentions, the mass market is not IPv6 ready; it is only a certain set of countries and few companies that have made themselves IPv6-ready. This is exactly why there is a great amount of importance given to this transition by governing bodies and governments across the globe.
In terms of security, IPv6 is more secure than IPv4 but it does have its own set of issues. However, none that cannot be taken care of with the right settings by system administrators. A lot of the issues that have cropped up are related to the interoperability issue and the work-arounds that had to be developed because of the same. Hence, the faster the transition to IPV6, the lesser scope for there will be for these issues to exist.
*Pg 40 - http://www.iana.org/about/presentations/davies-sofia-dnssec+ipv6-080909.pdf and Pg 6: http://www.iana.org/about/presentations/vegoda-registrars-ipv6-080502.pdf