1. IPv6 Product Acquisitions by United States (US) Federal departments and agencies

In Dec, 2009, a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) amendment (parts 7, 11, 12, and 39) for Internet Protocol (IP) version 6 (IPv6) acquisitions was published. It can be found here .

From July, 2010, until November, 2020, all US Federal departments and agencies could only acquire IP compliant products that were known to meet the requirements contained in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 500-267 A Profile for IPv6 in the US Government (USG) Version 1.0 (USGv6).

As of November, 2020, when NIST published SP500-267Ar1 (NIST IPv6 profile) and SP500-267Br1 (USGv6 Profile), all US Federal departments and agencies can only acquire IP compliant products that meet the requirements set forth in SP500-267Br1s (USGv6 Capabilities Table) (i.e., using the USGv6-r1 Capability Templates in Appendix A of SP500-267Br1) and whose vendors have documented their product’s support of those IPv6 capabilities, through USGv6 Test Programs using the USGv6 "Suppliers Declaration of Conformity" or SDOC). (Note: Additional information about the USGv6 Capabilities Table and USGv6 Test Programs is available here. NIST also published a USGv6 Test Program Guide.)

In July, 2011, the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration)/Department of Defense (DoD) Chief Information Officer (CIO) issued a DoD IPv6 Standard Profiles For IPv6 Capable Products Version 6.0. This document identified those IPv6 Request for Comments (RFCs) documents published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) described in the IPv6 and IoT Networking Standards article in the General Information section that are applicable for equipment purchased by the DoD.

Expanding on the DoD IPv6 Standard Profiles For IPv6 Capable Products and NIST USGv6 Profile, the Department of Veterans Affairs adds device classes for applications and services to their IPv6 & USGv6 Compliance Test Capability draft document.

Although not focused solely on IPv6, the DoD Enterprise Software Initiative (ESI) may sometimes be a useful resource when acquiring, distributing, or managing IPv6-capable commercial software, as briefly described here.

2. IPv6 Information Systems and Services Acquisition by US Federal departments and agencies

The US General Services Administration (GSA) Acquisition Manual (GSAM) describes GSA rules for the acquisition of goods and services. Section 511.170 Information Technology Coordination and Standards Part (d) specifically addresses rules that apply to IPv6.

The GSA offers detailed Guidance For Program Management of Agency Transition to an IPv6-only Environment (authentication required), along with IPv6-compliant equipment, applications, transition support and in-place integrated solutions contracts on their Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) page. An SOW template to purchase services to deploy IPv6 under the Connections II contract administered by the GSA is available. (Note: The scope of this SOW is limited to deployment of IPv6 on a network that is currently IPv4-only or partially dual-stacked.) This template includes evaluation criteria, offeror instructions, past performance form, a sample work breakdown structure, a sample project management plan template, pricing language and template, a deliverables chart, and a sample warranty spreadsheet. GSA has also provided answers to Networx IPv6 Frequently Asked Questions.

(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.)

Acquisition best practices applicable to the development of DoD information systems are provided by the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) in their Defense Acquisition Guidebook CH 6-3.9.3.

Recommended Acquisition Best Practices based on the FAR and USGv6 IPv6 profiles are available here.

3. IPv6 Equipment and Service Acquisitions by European countries

The Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE) Network Coordination Centre (NCC) is one of five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). In Jun, 2012, the RIPE NCC IPv6 Working Group issued a Requirements For IPv6 in ICT Equipment RIPE-554 document. It identifies IPv6 technical standards that are applicable for equipment and services purchased by European public sector and large enterprise network operators.

In Apr, 2018, the last European IPv6 project IPv6 Framework for European Governments which completed in 2018 published an overview of the IPv6 profiles developed by RIPE, NIST, and DoD in a report Technical Profiles IPv6 for Public Administrations in Europe. (Previous European IPv6 projects include the 6NET project completed Jun 2005, followed by the 6DISS project that completed Sept 2007; followed by 6DEPLOY and 6DEPLOY-2 (www.6deploy.eu) which completed Feb 2013. Governments Enabled with IPv6 (GEN6) completed May 2015. Deliverables and Presentations under the Publications tab of the GEN6 website provide additional material.)

4. Sample IPv6 Contractual Clauses

1. Section 511.170 Information Technology Coordination and Standards Part (d) of the GSAM mentioned at the beginning of paragraph (2) above provides sample SOW language and a sample waiver request.
2. The Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council Federal IPv6 Task Force website provides sample waivers for various Federal organizations in the Procurement Templates and Best Practices section Acquisitions IPv6 Compliance Resources subsection under Agency CIO Waivers. See this IPv6 and IoT Points of Contact article in the General Information section for the address of the CIO Council Federal IPv6 Task Force website.
3. In Oct, 2010, the DoD IPv6 Transition Office (which was disestablished in July 2011) provided this summary of sample contractual clauses. Examples of suggested warranty clauses and guidance for DoD Services/Agencies seeking a waiver for acquisitions of non-IPv6 capable items are included. (Note: Since this document was written, some of the referenced memoranda have been rescinded.)
4. An excerpt from the Feb, 2017, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) IPv6 Initiative on the ICANN website: Scope 1.d IPv6 Specification Compliance:
   To the extent the Services and/or Deliverables include development or provision of (i) website design, hosting, implementation and/or programming, and/or (ii) software and/or devices that support network or Internet connectivity, Contractor warrants and represents that all such Services and Deliverables will be fully compliant with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Protocol, Version 6 Specification, sometimes referred to as the IPv6 Specification and, in addition, will be fully backward-compatible with the Internet Engineering Task Force Internet Protocol, Version 4 Specification, sometimes referred to as the IPv4 Specification, including without limitation having the capabilities: (a) to create or receive, process, and send or forward (as appropriate) IPv6 packets in mixed IPv4/IPv6 environments, and (b) to interoperate with other iPv6 compliant software, devices and websites on networks supporting only IPv4, only IPv6, or both IPv4 and IPv6. The expectation is that any networked application or service developed for ICANN would operate irrespective of whether such services were accessed using IPv4 or IPv6.
5. This excerpt from a Dec 2016 Army Contract W52P1J-17-D-0006:
   3.12 IPV6 CAPABLE ASSETS
   ----------------------------------
   The Contractor shall warrant that each item delivered under the Contract shall accurately transmit, receive, process, and function correctly using the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). Specifically, the Contractor warrants that:
   a. each item delivered complies with the current DISR developed IPv6 standards profile;
   b. each item delivered maintains interoperability with IPv4 (specifically, shall operate on/coexist on a network supporting IPv4 only, IPv6 only, or a hybrid of IPv4 and IPv6); and
   c. each item delivered is supported by the Contractors IPv6 technical support.
   Additionally, as IPv6 evolves, the Contractor shall upgrade or provide an appropriate migration path for each item delivered. The duration of this warranty and the remedies available to the Government for breach of this warranty shall be as defined in, and subject to, the terms and limitations of the Contractors standard commercial warranty or warranties contained in this Contract, provided that notwithstanding any provision(s) to the contrary in such commercial warranty or warranties, the remedies available to the Government under this warranty shall include repair or replacement of any product whose non-compliance is discovered and made known to the Contractor no later than one year after acceptance. Nothing in this warranty shall be construed to limit any rights or remedies the Government shall otherwise have under this Contract with respect to defects other than IPv6 performance.
   ----------------------------------

5. Sample IPv6 Acquisition Contracts

1. A Performance Work Statement (PWS), Apr 2021, for the Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) 4 and a PWS, July, 2011, for the DREN III are both available here. (Authentication is required for both documents.) A draft of the DREN 4 PWS is available here. (Authentication is not required for this document.)

This article provides information for those interested in benefitting from the experience of large organizations and academic institutions that have deployed dual-stack (which support both Internet Protocol version 6 [IPv6] and IPv4) or IPv6-only environments across multiple geographic locations and on wide-area networks, as well as smaller organizations at a single geographic location. The IPv6-only test network setup topic in the IPv6 Test Techniques article in the Testing section also provides information about deploying and testing IPv6-only environments.

Lessons learned and in many cases descriptions of the processes actually used while deploying dual-stack and IPv6-only environments may also be found in several of the individual presentations, papers, studies, publications, and articles referenced by the Overview of Lessons Learned Deploying IPv6 article in the General Information section. Links to pertinent parts of that article are provided below.

Note: If you are just starting to think about a deployment of IPv6 or are still in the early planning stages of a deployment of IPv6, please review the Before you Begin article in the Deployment section.

This Overview of Process article provides references to several discussions about deploying dual-stack or IPv6-only environments in four major categories:

1. Large Organizations' Process. This category provides references to the project management, planning, and deployment processes used by organizations in three subcategories:

(A) United States (US) Federal government organizations,
(B) foreign government organizations, and
(C) large private corporations.

2. Academic Community's Process. This category provides references to the project management, planning, and deployment processes used by colleges and universities.

3. Smaller Organizations' Process. This category provides references to the project management, planning, and deployment processes used by organizations with a single geographic location.

4. DREN's Process. This category discusses the project management, planning, and deployment processes used by the US Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) when it was a US DoD IPv6 Pilot network and an early adopter of IPv6.

1. Introduction

The articles, papers and presentations referenced in section 2. Basic Orientation below provide a quick survey of some of the many factors to consider when planning for a deployment of IPv6.

Please don’t try to absorb the information offered by the articles, papers and presentations referenced in section 3. Further Reading below all at once — skim through their descriptions, pick a couple that interest you to review now, then come back later and review others.

 Deployment or Transition: what's the difference?

The IPv6 knowledge base speaks about the deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) rather than the transition to IPv6, as does the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-119 Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6, Dec, 2010:

"Since the majority of organizations will most likely run both IPv6 and IPv4 on their networks for the foreseeable future, this document speaks about the deployment of IPv6 rather than the transition to IPv6."

Since those words were written, many organizations have deployed IPv6 and are running dual-stacked networks (both IPv4 and IPv6 are supported). The time to transition to IPv6 (only IPv6 is supported) is approaching, and with it The Need for IPv6-only Product Support. 

2. Basic Orientation

As you read the articles, papers and presentations in this section, you will notice that training is mentioned frequently. The importance of training was a lesson learned in 2010 by a company with over 20 years of experience in providing training. Since a lack of operational expertise with IPv6 poses the biggest threat when deploying IPv6, training was stressed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) when it published Request for Comments (RFC) 7381 Enterprise IPv6 Deployment Guidelines in 2014. The importance of training was emphasized again by this article in 2018.

Organizations just starting on the path toward a deployment of IPv6 would do well to consider these eight Golden Rules for IPv6, these Seven Golden Rules for IPv6, and these Six Steps to IPv6.

Management oriented factors to consider before planning a deployment of IPv6 are provided with increasing levels of detail by these articles:

10 Top Tips for Chief Information Officers Getting Ready for IPv6
12 Steps to Enable IPv6 In An ISP Network
IPv6 Transition Framework for the Enterprise

and these presentations:

Completing the Transition to Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPV6)
Planning for IPv6 in the Real World
IPv6 Deployment Planning
Tactical Challenges of Government IPv6 Deployments. 

Another management oriented factor to consider is the benefit of applying agile methodology to IPv6 deployment.

Project management factors to consider before planning a deployment of IPv6 are provided with increasing levels of detail by these articles:

Top 5 Concerns of Network Admins About Migrating to IPv6
Successful Strategies for IPv6 (the Introduction is optional on first reading),
Framework for Planning an IPv6 Deployment,
First Steps in IPv6 Adoption – Having a Plan (item 4 below expands on this article),
Enterprise Transition Framework, 
IPv6 Deployment Guide

and these presentations:

Creating a Practical IPv6 Transition Plan and
Developing an IPv6 Enterprise Pilot Program (video available here).

(If you weren't already aware of these Top 5 Project Management Lessons Learned or this list of 128 Project Manager’s Lessons Learned, courtesy of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), then now is the time to do so. They are not limited to the deployment of IPv6. Also, this Project Management 101 article reviews the basic concepts and this Getting IPv6 Done article applies these basic concepts to the task of planning a deployment of IPv6.)

3. Further Reading

The articles, papers and presentations below discuss management and project management factors involved in planning for a deployment of IPv6. They contain information for a wide range of audiences in varying levels of detail. The eighth and ninth references in subsection 3.2 are the most technically complete and comprehensive.

For more detailed information, the IPv6 Training and Learning article in the Deployment section of the IPv6 Knowledge Base contains extensive references to printed books and on-line articles, papers, presentations, free and commercial training courses and more.

3.1 Individual Home or Small Business thru Government Organizations and Large Enterprises

1. The Internet SOCiety (ISOC) Deploy360 Where do I start? web page provides materials for several categories of organizations and network operators planning for an IPv6 deployment
2. The IETF published their RFC 4057 IPv6 Enterprise Network Scenarios and RFC 5211 An Internet Transition Plan early in the global deployment of IPv6
3. Infoblox provides guidance for a multi-year transition to IPv6 targeted at the small business or enterprise in this trio of articles: the IPv4-only phase, the Dual-Stack phase, and the IPv6-only phase, and provides additional guidance in this later article
4. Another series of articles by Infoblox provides guidance in 6 phases for a deployment of IPv6: Assessment, Training, Planning and Design, Proof of Concept, Deployment and Operate
5. The Réseaux IP Européens Network Coordination Centre (RIPE NCC) Regional Internet Registry (RIR) provides guidance targeted at small business, network operator, enterprise, and government communities on their Deploy IPv6 Now website
6. In 2009, the ISOC Argentina Chapter published guidance targeted at the individual, small business, enterprise, academic, and network operator communities just getting started in their IPv6 for All: A Guide for IPv6 Usage and Application paper
7. This Deploying IPv6 in the Home and Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) article in the Deployment section provides suggestions for keeping a home or SOHO computer and network secure.

3.2 Medium Sized Organizations thru Government Organizations and Large Enterprises

1. This presentation from the Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) Software Engineering Institute (SEI) describes their TransPlant methodology for accomplishing technology transitions. The Defense Research and Engineering Network (DREN) followed the TransPlant methodology when planning its deployment of IPv6 as described here
2. This presentation from ERNW Insinuator describes enterprise deployment address strategy, routing strategy, and security strategy
3. This presentation from Neosixth Technologies describes both an IPv6 deployment process and a case study for a university using the process
4. In 2011, the Swedish Post and Telecom Agency published their comprehensive Deploying IPv6 – Internet Protocol version 6 Practical Guidance paper
5. In 2013, the Grand European Academic NeTwork (Géant) published their IPv6 Migration Guide: Best Practice Document
6. The IETF in 2014 published their RFC 7381 Enterprise IPv6 Deployment Guidelines, and in 2019 published their RFC 8683 Additional NAT64/464XLAT Deployment Guidelines in Operator and Enterprise Networks
7. In 2011 and 2012, Cisco Systems, Inc. released three technical white papers describing Campus Network, Branch Network, and Internet Edge deployments describing dual-stack and more complex approaches involving the use of various IPv6 transition mechanisms when deploying IPv6
8. In 2010, NIST published a comprehensive Special Publication 800-119 providing Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6. Sections 6.8 and 6.9 are especially relevant for those just getting started
9. In 2017, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) Industry Specification Group for IPv6 Integration (ISG for IP6) published a comprehensive IPv6 Deployment in the Enterprise report. Sections 4.4 and 4.5 are especially relevant for those just getting started
10. In 2018, the American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) published the Impact of IPv6 deployment and the 12 steps to take when implementing IPv6 on government and large enterprise networks.
11. In 2021, the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council Federal IPv6 Task Force published a comprehensive Guidance for Program Management of Agency Transition to an IPv6-only Environment (authentication required) on their web page.

3.3 Large Network Operators

1. In 2011, Cisco Systems, Inc. prepared a white paper identifying the applications and network services that use or manage Internet Protocols or packets and the modifications needed to enable IPv6 support.
2. During 2006 to 2011, the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) prepared 4 reports on deploying IPv6 in networks across the world: ATIS IPv6 Report & Recommendation. ATIS IPv6 Task Force Report on IPv6 Transition Challenges, ATIS Readiness Plan for IPv6 Transition, and Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) and IPv6 Readiness
3. During 2008 to 2009, the 3G Americas trade association (a predecessor of 5G Americas) prepared 2 reports on deploying IPv6 across the wireless networks of the American continents: Transitioning to IPv6 and IPv6 Transition Considerations for LTE and Evolved Packet Core. In 2017, the 5G Americas trade association prepared a third report: LTE to 5G: Cellular and Broadband Innovation.

The Deployment section provides a wide variety of information for individuals and organizations interested in benefitting from the experience of others in planning for IPv6 deployment, including training, product support capabilities, acquisition, and pre-deployment efforts. IPv6 deployment information is available for large enterprises, Internet Service Providers (ISP), United States Federal government departments and agencies, academic institutions, and small-medium organizations with a single geographic location, as well as the home and Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) user.

Before You Begin

Overview of Process

IPv6 Boiler Plate Acquisitions Language

IPv6 Training and Learning

IPv6 Transition Mechanisms

IPv6 Software

IPv6 in the Home and Small Office/Home Office (SOHO)