Providing Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) access to websites and other content and applications is important to their original developers, who may not always to able to provide IPv6 access using their own resources.
A relatively simple way to enable IPv6 access for any existing public-facing IPv4-only web server is by using one of the services or products described in the four categories below. In different ways, each can provide dual stack (IPv6 in addition to legacy IPv4) access for websites and applications that are natively IPv4-only. A product or service offered by a particular provider may not always fit neatly into just one category.
Some problems encountered when deploying IPv6 access and solutions to those problems are described in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Request for Comment (RFC) 6589, Considerations for Transitioning Content to IPv6.
The four categories of dual stack services and products are:
1. Cloud Service Providers. Cloud service providers are described in the Cloud Computing using IPv6 article in the Infrastructure section.
2. Content Delivery Network (CDN) Providers. CDN Providers are described in the Available IPv6 Content Delivery Network (CDN) Providers article in the FAQ section.
3. Web Hosting Service Providers. Web Hosting Service Providers are described in this article and many lists of web hosting service providers are available. A Google search for “web hosting services” will find thousands of them.
4. Proxy Server Products. Inserting some type of dual stack proxy server product in the network path between your IPv4-only content or application of interest and the public Internet is another way to provide dual stack access. Proxy server products are similar in function to other products called by different names by different providers, such as:
Load Balancer,
Application Delivery Controller,
Reverse Proxy Server,
Web Server Accelerator, or
Application Level/Layer Gateway.
Elastic Load Balancers (Application, Network, Gateway and the original Classic) are offered by Amazon Web Services, and this article describes how they differ. Amazon Load Balancers can even provide dual-stack access to IPv4-only servers.
Application Delivery Controllers are discussed in this article and accompanying presentation.
Also, the Internet Society (ISOC) describes additional dual stack services and products on their Making Content Available Over IPv6 web page.
Return to the IPv6 and IoT Frequently Asked Questions page.
Several Content Delivery Network (CDN, also known as content distribution network) Providers can provide dual stack (Internet Protocol version 6 [IPv6] in addition to legacy IPv4) access to IPv4-only websites. This article gives reasons why you might want to use a CDN Provider, and lists some of them. Another list of dual stack CDN Providers is available here. Sometimes, the report for a CDN provider on the CDNPlanet website may indicate that dual stack access is provided. For each CDN provider listed below, a statement of IPv6 support is available. Click on the CDN Provider Name.
| CDN Provider Name | Commencing |
|---|---|
| Akamai Technologies | 2011 |
| Amazon Cloudfront | 2016 |
| BelugaCDN | 2016 |
| CloudFlare,Inc. | 2011 |
| Fastly | 2017 |
| Imperva Incapsula | 2015 |
| Internap Corporation (NASDAQ ticker symbol: INAP) | 2011 |
| KeyCDN | 2018 |
| Leaseweb | 2010 |
| Limelight Networks, Inc. | 2009 |
| Lumen Technologies, LLC (formerly CenturyLink Business, Inc.) | 2021 |
| Microsoft Azure CDN | 2018 |
| Netflix Open Connect | 2014 |
| QUANTIL | 2015 |
| StackPath (formerly MaxCDN, Highwinds, and StackPath) | 2018 |
| Tata Communications | 2008 |
| Verizon Digital Media Services (formerly Edgecast Networks, Inc.) | 2012 |
Google Cloud CDN began providing the dual stack global network and edge infrastructure services for several of the above CDN Providers in 2018, including Akamai, Cloudflare, Fastly, Limelight, Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly CenturyLink Business, Inc.), StackPath and Verizon Digital Media Services.
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As early as 1999, software developers began building tools to support the conversioni of existing or development of new applications to support Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). The rapidly growing use of mobile devices which support IPv6 via the Internet of Things (IoT) and the acceptance of employees’ Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) on enterprise networks are increasing the importance of converting existing applications and developing new ones to support IPv6.
Software tools for converting existing or developing new applications to support IPv6 are identified in the Application Conversion Tools article in the Applications section. An introduction to the steps involved when converting existing or developing new applications to support IPv6 is given in the Application Conversion Introduction article in the Applications section. That article also describes IPv6 support in the Run Time Libraries (RTL) of various languages. The IPv6 Software article in the Deployment section identifies several sources of information about applications that have not yet been converted to support IPv6.
Return to the IPv6 and IoT: FAQ page.
One summary of the IPv6 deployment status of many United States (US) organizations (other than US Department of Defense organizations) for their public-facing websites and services is available here. The Transition Progress Measures section near the end of this presentation explains how to interpret that information. Another summary of the IPv6 deployment status of many US organizations as well as organizations around the world is available here.
Many US organizations, academic institutions, and industry organizations have been involved in the deployment of IPv6. Some of these organizations are mentioned in the IPv6 and IoT Points of Contact and the IPv6 and IoT Networking Standards articles in the General Information section.
Several state governments in the US are deploying IPv6. They are listed in part 5 of Where to Get IPv6 Addresses in the Network Management section.
Many foreign countries have been involved in the deployment of IPv6. A partial list of foreign countries appears in this article. A partial chart of European countries appears in this EU Internet Standards Deployment Monitoring Website chart. Many academic institutions outside the US have been involved in the deployment of IPv6. A partial list appears here. A partial list of policy and guidance memoranda issued by government and industry organizations outside the US can be found in the Non-United States IPv6 and IoT Policy, Guidance, and Best Practices article in the General Information section.
Return to the IPv6 and IoT: FAQ page.
Federal Government Organizations other than the Department of Defense
A summary of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) deployment status of many United States (US) Federal government organizations (other than the Department of Defense (DoD) and affiliated organizations) for their public-facing websites and services is available here. The Transition Progress Measures section near the end of this presentation explains how to interpret that information.
The Federal government organizations (other than the DoD) began to deploy IPv6 as a result of this Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memorandum. Other Federal government organizations’ policy and guidance memoranda issued since that time can be found in Part 1: United States (US) Federal government (other than the DoD) organizations documents in the United States (US) IPv6 and IoT Policy, Guidance, and Best Practices article in the General Information section. Each Federal government organization usually assigned responsibility for IPv6 deployment across the organization to an Office, Group or Team within the organization. A partial list of Federal government organizations appears in this IPv6 Points of Contact article in the General Information section. A 2022 Federal Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) update providing more information about Federal government organizations’ IPv6 deployment can be found here. A 2016 Federal FAQ is available here. The original 2011 Federal FAQ is still available here.
General Services Administration Contracts
Several of the ISPs mentioned in Available Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Networks in the FAQ section provide IPv6-enabled networking under General Services Administration (GSA) contracts: the Networx contract, the multiple award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity Connections II contract (which ended on May 31, 2023) and the Alliant 2 Government-wide Acquisition Contract. A Statement of Work (SOW) template suitable for Federal government organizations wishing to purchase services to deploy IPv6 under the Connections II contract can be found here. (Note: The scope of this SOW is limited to deployment of IPv6 on a network that is currently IPv4-only or partially dual-stacked.) The original 2011 Federal FAQ mentioned above provides additional details about IPv6-enabled networking available under the Networx contract.
A Guidance for Program Management of Agency Transition to an IPv6-only Environment document (authentication required) is available on the GSA Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) page.
(Note: The GSA is in the midst of an Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) acquisition. The Networx contract (and others) are transitioning to EIS. See this GSA web page describing the on-going multi-year transition.)
DoD Organizations
A summary of the IPv6 deployment status of many DoD organizations for their public-facing websites and services is available here. (Only DoD and affiliated organizations appear on this web page.)
The DoD began to deploy IPv6 as a result of this Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration)/DoD Chief Information Officer 2003 memorandum. Later DoD policy and guidance memoranda can be found in Part 2: US DoD organizations documents in the United States IPv6 and IoT Policy, Guidance, and Best Practices article in the General Information section. From 2003 until it was disestablished in 2011, the DoD assigned responsibility for IPv6 deployment across the DoD to the DoD IPv6 Transition Office (DITO), managed by the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Each DoD Service/organization initially assigned responsibility for IPv6 deployment across the Service/organization to an Office, Group or Team within the Service/organization, but by 2014 that responsibility had been spread out across the Services/organizations. A partial list of the organizations initially involved in IPv6 deployment within the DoD appears in this IPv6 Points of Contact article in the General Information section.
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