As expected, Comcast is beginning to move forward with formal trials of IPv6, the next iteration of Internet protocol, one of the first large service providers to commit to what is increasingly being viewed as a transition that can no longer be put off.
Comcast said it will conduct several technical trials implementing the IPV6, beginning in the next couple of months. The cable operator is actually asking for customer volunteers to participate in the trials via its http://www.comcast6.net Web site.
Concerns about the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses has been growing for some time, with the most recent word that less than 10 percent of all remaining IPV4 addresses remain available. We documented the industry’s strong move to IP across the board – as well as issues around the IPv4 to IPV6 in our recent cover story: IP Everywhere).
Comcast’s is out ahead of the game in moving to IPV6. Most service providers and enterprises have used every available means necessary, most typically network address translation schemes, or NAT, to delay the move to IPv6. While there are some added capabilities in IPv6 in areas like security and service-enablement, the move is largely one done out of necessity, and thus a cost that most carriers would prefer to put off as long as possible.
Comcast described its trial plans this way:
Many experts believe that this transition could be disruptive for Internet users, so the trials we plan to conduct in 2010 will help us identify and solve any areas of difficulty involved in the transition to IPv6. We’ll also use this trial to determine what approach will be the easiest and most seamless for our customers.
According to a report on ComputerWorld, Comcast will test three IPv6 scenarios:
- Phase one will use 6rd, a technique developed by French ISP Free that allows for rapid deployment of IPv6 by tunneling IPv6 traffic over IPv4 addresses.
- Phase two will support native IPv4 and IPv6 traffic running side-by-side in an approach dubbed dual-stack. This is Comcast’s preferred method of transition to IPv6 and may require the carrier to reclaim unused blocks of IPv4 addresses from other network operators.
- Phase three will test a technique developed by Comcast called Dual-Stack Lite, which uses network-address translation to share one IPv4 address among many customers.
With new IP-cable mobile devices proliferating like wildfire, this issue will only intensify. Most vendors say they are ready to help with the transition. Meanwhile several governments, most notably in Japan and Korea, have put strong incentives in place to drive the move to IPv6, while the U.S. Department of Defense has mandated its use moving forward.
Look for Comcast’s formal move to start trialing IPv6 to get other service providers moving in this direction in 2010 as well.