Before You Begin

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.