Hi Noel.
I don't think there is any real change in DoD policy. Anyone who has
followed the DoD IPv6 work more closely or who sells products to the
DoD has long seen that the IPv6 requirements are more nuanced and
depend on a lot of factors. And there have always been exceptions and
waivers, depending on local circumstances.
We are still in that situation today, though overall, the requirement
for IPv6 is still there and is stronger than ever.
Joel said it pretty well. Vendors have mostly moved beyond this. There
are DoD networks where IPv6 is running today, and there certainly are
networks where it is not. IPv6 deployment has never been as simple as
"you must do it".
Just as a general FYI, for those not following this space more
closely, industry's position wrt IPv6 has clearly shifted during the
last year. As one colleague recently put it, "reality has set in". A
year ago, many big operators and companies were still taking a
wait-and-see approach to IPv6. Over the last year, we are seeing some
major players come to the realization that "we have to do this" and
have actually started doing so. This is real deployment, not just
playing around. But of course, there is a long road ahead, with more
trials and testing before a lot of this can go live in a production
setting. But momentum clearly seems to be shifting.
See the following articles for some indications of where things are
and what is happening in the pipeline.
Akamai:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/091610-akamai-ipv6.html
Verizon:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/082410-verizon-ipv6.html
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/090310-verizon-ipv6.html?source=NWWNLE
AT&T:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/082610-att-ipv6.html
http://www.business.att.com/enterprise/exchange_resource/Topic/tech
T-Mobile USA:
http://groups.google.com/group/tmoipv6beta
And of course, the IPv6 efforts of Comcast, Google, Netflix,
Limelight, etc. are all "old news" at this point.
Oh, and today, there is an NTIA-sponsered workshop on IPv6:
http://www.affirm.org/NTIA_IPv6
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/advisory/IPv6/IPV6WorkshopAgenda_09282010.pdf
And presumably the entire USGv6 program is "old news" these days.
(http://w3.antd.nist.gov/usgv6/testing.html). Yet that program appears
to be humming along, with lots of vendors getting products tested (and
fixed!). (And like the DoD program, there are nuances to USGv6, there
are exceptions, it's not an absolute no-wiggle-room requirement, etc.)
And if you want to understand who is about to get slammed by the pain
of address shortages, look at the mobile wireless space.
During 2010, the number of mobile subscriptions worldwide is expected
to reach 5B (yes 5 billion), and 1B of those will include internet
access (http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13970_7-10454065-78.html). The
number of mobile subscriptions is expected to double to 10B by 2015
(according to Morgan Stanley)! All those mobile devices need
addresses!
Lots of stuff happening. Much of it behind the scenes. None of this
will play out quickly. But I think industry has really turned a corner
in the last year, and momentum is building. The landscape will look
very different a year from today.
Thomas
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