CSC – IT Center for Science Ltd has served as a pioneer in IPv6 from the beginning of the protocol development. CSC has built IPv6 connections for Finnish researchers and participated in international collaboration within research networks. CSC’s Data Communications Specialist Pekka Savola has been actively participating in the operations of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) since 2001. For more than five years he has been a member in the IPv6 Operations working group and participated in writing ten draft standards (Request for comments, RFC) and technical documentation relating to IPv6. From 2003 to 2005 he served as chairman of the IPv6 Operations working group.

CSC was active also over the period 2002 to 2005 by participating in the 6net project funded by the EU; this project worked to build an European IPv6 pilot network.

The development of the IPv6 protocol was initiated some 15 years ago when it seemed likely that the IPv4 address space would be exhausted. The idea was that the new protocol would be taken into use well before the IPv4 addresses were used up.

In 1988, the definition work had proceeded far enough to allow release of the standard (RFC2460). However, implementation of this new protocol definition has been very slow. The explosive growth and utilization of the Internet over the past few years have been based mainly on solutions using only IPv4.

“IPv6 would be a sustainable solution for a hundred years. The number of addresses is so high that we could all have our personal items numbered. In the end, local over-consumption of addresses may turn out to be a problem,” says Jari Miettinen, Development Manager of Funet Services at CSC.

“IPv4 and IPv6 are incompatible protocols. Since the implementation of IPv6 has been slow, it is almost certain that we will face all the side effects that the original protocol architects tried to avoid.”

Preventing peak times by collaborating

The exhaustion of IPv6 addresses can happen a bit like with a sand pit where all the children huddle into one corner, even though the greater part of the sand pit remains empty, and there is actually room for everyone.

“In IP numbers this means that a small set of all possible numbers becomes too popular, and the IP address pool is spoiled. What comes to IPv4, the exhaustion will be total,” says Miettinen.

“In order to avoid pitfalls in global implementation, research will have to be continued to clarify the protocol definition and implementation of IPv6 and other new protocols. In the end, the implementation of the new protocol will require personal decision-making. Therefore, all parties should participate in this joint effort,” says Jari Miettinen.

The European Commission is worried about the IPv4 addresses being exhausted within a few years. IPv6 would provide Europe with new potential for innovation and a leading position in the development of the Internet, as is emphasized in the Commission’s report on IPv6.

The report recommends wide-scale implementation of IPv6 in Europe by 2011. By this deadline, most operators should be able to provide support and 25 percent of end users should use IPv6.

Furthermore, a hundred of the most popular European websites should offer their services also via IPv6 within the next few years.

The Commission is keen to encourage the inclusion of IPv6 technology into the curricula of engineering fields and data communications courses. IPv6 should be taken into consideration when companies plan their hardware and software updates, organizational changes, and training programs.

IPv6 is emphasized also in the Seoul Declaration for the Future of the Internet Economy accepted by the OECD Council at Ministerial Level in 2008.

So far only one percent of network traffic

In spite of all this, the implementation of IPv6 has had a slow start in Europe. According to measurements at Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX), the volume of IPv6 traffic is only a hundredth of all network traffic.

Based on the survey published last spring by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, operators are already well prepared for IPv6. According to FICIX, the Finnish Communication and Internet Exchange Association attending to Internet exchange in Finland, 10 of its 28 members currently handle IPv6 traffic. However, only a few of the Finnish operators do active sales marketing on IPv6 routing for commercial purposes.

Very few Finnish companies are prepared for the arrival of IPv6. A new set of costs due to the needed changes in routers, switches, programs, and data security can come as an unpleasant surprise - for users of the Internet at home too.

An update covering both protocols is available for almost all routers and switches. With the update installed, devices can route native IPv6 traffic and tunnel it over the IPv4 network. Still, reviewing the status and running the necessary updates require time and information.

Protocol converter enables Funet Antenna

CSC’s Funet Services has actively worked to promote the implementation of IPv6. In 2009, Teemu Kiviniemi completed his master’s thesis ”Implementation of an IPv4 to IPv6 Multicast Translator” presenting a protocol converter for multicasting. The thesis work was conducted as a collaboration between Helsinki University of Technology and CSC.

By using a protocol converter, multicast services of the IPv4 network are accessible through the IPv6 protocol, and hence, for example, the IPTV broadcasts supplied by Funet Antenna can be converted for reception over the IPv6 network. The protocol converter service based on the thesis will be adopted at Funet later this year, abreast with other IPv6 transition services. No modifications are needed in the equipment sending or receiving multicast material, so using the service is easy.

IPv4 addresses to be reused

According to Relevantum Oy’s Data Communications Specialist Vesa Keinänen, no immediate major changes are expected due to the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses. “Getting a new address will become more difficult, but many companies have unused address space regions that can be reused.”

Keinänen thinks that IPv4 will remain in use by companies for a long time, because the addresses issued to computers and peripherals in intranet networks can be arranged through private IPv4 addresses. Companies will postpone implementation of the IPv6 technology until it is impossible to get a public network address from the IPv4 name space.

“It is difficult to justify to companies why they should adopt IPv6 right away. In the short run, it does not provide companies with any clear advantage. Operators should actively market their IPv6 services to make companies interested; otherwise, customer projects will just represent tinkering about.”

“It is especially important to encourage Finnish software developers to take action. Network applications that require an IP protocol should now be adapted to work also in the IPv6 environment. This will help to avoid service blackouts when IPv6 is taken into widespread use,” Keinänen emphasizes.

Data security at risk during the transition period

Vista, Linux, and Nokia smart phones already support IPv6. The most important network service programs, such as browsers, e-mail and name servers, also support version 6, and an update is available for the Windows XP operating system.

“At the transition phase, both IPv4 and IPv6 will coexist and both protocols will be supported on network equipment and operating systems. Old applications and services within industrial intranet networks will require support for IPv4 for a long time. Parallel use will guarantee compatibility with the old system and a path to the future.”

“In addition, gateways can also be employed which will perform an automatic conversion between address spaces. However, with new route acquisitions it is important to ensure that they support IPv6.”

“Firewall management will become a challenge, for it is difficult to harmonize firewall regulations. The development of automatic IPv4/IPv6 regulatory conversions is far from completed. It means that companies will have to maintain two different sets of regulations, which will increase data security risks," says Keinänen.

Image: "What comes to IPv6 adresses, the exhaustion will be total," says Miettinen.

Pekka Tolonen
Paavo Ahonen

Consumers need information, too

The Ministry of Transport and Communications would like to encourage operators to prepare for IPv6. However, this cannot be done through legislation, since the matter relates to technical norms, and these are controlled by means of regulations at a lower level.

“In a currently ongoing project called National Information Society the aim is to determine when and where Ipv6 will be needed. At the Ministry, we are thinking of publishing a newsletter to inform the general public on possible problems that may arise,” says Communications Counselor Kari Ojala.

“By setting norms we can oblige operators to include IPv6 in their equipment. Hence, the ordinary consumer would not need to know whether the solution is embedded in IPv4 or IPv6. Even so, consumers need to be informed, for problems may occur in old devices and browsers.”

A breakthrough awaited

To press for commercial implementation, the IPv6 working group is working to find means to increase content producers’ and consumers’ awareness of IPv6 issues.

“Once started, commercial demand will proceed like an avalanche. Additional demand will be involved with applications relating to small gadgets and information and communications technology and communication between them needing lots of addresses. These can form the necessary breakthrough application for extensive IPv6 implementation,” says Timo Leppinen, chairman of the IPv6 working group, representing the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority.

“We are a long way behind the 25 percent goal set for achievement by 2011. Europe has no pressures to hurry into IPv6, because operators have horded IPv4 addresses. Asia is already proceeding at full speed in making the transfer to IPv6, since they no longer have a sufficient number of addresses.”

According to Leppinen, a breakthrough may need an initiative from, for example, Microsoft, Cisco, or Nokia. Mobile and cloud computing applications may also speed up the implementation of IPv6.

An IPv6 logo for consumer communications?

“It may be necessary to have an IPv6 logo for commercialization, perhaps similar to the HD Ready logo currently used in television sales. A commercial message is important to a consumer who does not wish to buy outdated technology. An IPv6 logo would imply that the technology is going to remain compatible into the future,” Leppinen suggests.

Kari Ruopsa, Vice President, Technology from Welho, one of the Finnish operators, also considers the logo as one possible means to enhance the launch.

“Welho is well prepared for IPv6. However, demand for IPv6 is minimal and therefore, it is not yet being actively marketed. I believe that the situation will change drastically within the next few years."