Aussie ISPs "a timid lot" when it comes to IPv6

By Stuart Corner
Wednesday, 23 December 2009 07:37

Business IT - Technology

Australian ISPs have been branded "a timid lot" for their tardiness in providing support for the new Internet address protocol IPv6, soon to be essential as the IPv4 address space becomes exhausted.

Writing in the latest edition of his organisation's newsletter, 'The Standard', Michael Biber, professional services manager at IPv6 consultancy IPv6Now, notes that only seven percent of Australia's Autonomous Systems are IPv6 ready, and he contrasts this with New Zealand at 18 percent and with Jersey, Cuba and Vatican City all of which, he says have between 50 percent and 100 percent IPv6 capability, although he does acknowledge that this may be due to them having few autonomous systems (essentially a group of Internet routers under common administrative or technical control).

Australian ISPs, he says, are "a timid lot" apart from "the ever-innovative Internode." But, he says even its native IPv6 service comes with no support and no guarantees.

"Why on earth would any business bother going to the trouble and expense of installing IPv6 on their own networks, when they can't even get an IPv6 packet out the door?" Biber asks, adding: "Lack of professional IPv6 transit has become a roadblock for Australia.

He advocates the use of IPv6 tunnelling technology as a way around the road block, saying: "It's a world-class technology, fully compliant with IETF standards. Lightweight, easy, secure, reliable and able to carry tens of thousands of simultaneous IPv6 connections without missing a beat."

Tunnelling can be achieved in many different ways, but at a fundamental level this involves wrapping the IPv6 packet in an IPv4 envelope (frame), so that the IPv4 Internet can route the whole datagram to its destination. Elsewhere in the newsletter, Biber describes a number of ways of implementing IPv6 tunnelling.


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