IPv6 Transition

How a New gTLD Should Choose a Back-end Registry System - Part 3

This part 3 of the selecting a back-end registry service provider series focuses on Whois and sharing data in new gTLDs. If you've ever looked up information about a domain name you've used a Whois service. It's the public information system about contact information for a domain name or IP addresses, though in this article, we will just talk about domain name Whois. In some generic and sponsored Top Level Domains (gTLDs), Whois is run authoritatively by the gTLD. In older gTLDs such as .com and .net, the authoritative Whois service is run by the registrar responsible for the domain name. While some TLD operators run their own infrastructure... more

IPv6: Zeno’s Paradox and Invisible Brick Walls

As we continue our ride toward the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, Regional Internet Registries public discussion groups remain filled with endless discussions on how large swaths of allocated IPv4 addresses are unused, should be reclaimed or recycled one way or another, maybe be put on the free market and sold to the highest bidder or parsed out in more egalitarian controlled ways. Although everyone now accepts the notion of IPv4 address exhaustion, it seems to be for some an invisible glass wall and for others a gold brick wall worth the death of the internet to get a piece of it. more

Addressing 2013 - That Was the Year That Was

Time for another annual roundup from the world of IP addresses. What happened in 2013 and what is likely to happen in 2014? This is an update to the reports prepared at the same time in previous years, so let's see what has changed in the past 12 months in addressing the Internet, and look at how IP address allocation information can inform us of the changing nature of the network itself. more

One Year Later: Who’s Doing What With IPv6?

One year on from the World IPv6 Launch in June 2012, we wanted to see how much progress has been made towards the goal of global IPv6 deployment. Both APNIC and Google are carrying out measurements at the end user level, which show that around 1.29% (APNIC) and 1.48% (Google) of end users are capable of accessing the IPv6 Internet. Measurements taken from this time last year show 0.49% (APNIC) and 0.72% (Google), which means the amount of IPv6-enabled end users has more than doubled in the past 12 months. more

The Changing Role of IP Addresses in the Architectural Evolution of the Internet

I work at APNIC, the Regional Internet Registry that serves the Asia Pacific Region. APNIC provides common infrastructure services for the region that support the unique assignment of IP address blocks to Internet network operators within our region through the operation of an address registry. In short, IP addresses are what we do. So, when there are discussions in technology circles about evolving the Internet's address model in varying ways,... more

Researches Demonstrate How IPv6 Attacks Can Bypass Network Intrusion Detection Systems

With the increasing popularity of IoT devices and the added interest of transition to IPv6, a whole new range of threat vectors are evolving that allow attackers to set up undetectable communications channels across networks. more

IPv6: Childhood’s End?

A few weeks ago, when I was lurking around IPv6, I found that my own www.ipv6.tk was my first ever IPv6 domain. A "whois" on the domain says that it was registered in 2005, but something told me that I actually started this earlier. ?I therefore logged in at www.nic.tk and could see that my first feeling was correct; the first invoice for ipv6.tk was actually paid in the year of 2002. Here are some of the key things that I have experienced and learned over my first ten years. more

Business Case for IPv6 - Part 1

When discussing IPv6, it is easy to forget that we are ultimately talking about an enhanced version of an existing network protocol. Sure, it brings about a number of technical advantages. But when viewed in isolation - without a business case - there really are not that many drivers that would place IPv6 on the agenda of the top decision makers looking after budgets. For IPv6 to gain serious momentum, this has to be changed. more

Visibility of Prefix Lengths in IPv4 and IPv6

Internet routes are specified for an address prefix. The shorter the prefix, the more general the route. A shorter prefix covers more address space and thus a bigger part of the Internet. Very long prefixes cover few addresses and are used for local routing close to the destination address. In general, it is not necessary to distribute very long prefixes to the whole Internet, because a more general, shorter prefix is sufficient to direct packets in the direction of the destination. more

Google Rolling Out Its Services Over IPv6

While Google admits that offering its services over IPv6 is still in its infancy, the company today announced the option for accessing Google services over IPv6. Last year, Google started offering Google search over IPv6 on IPv6-only websites like 'ipv6.google.com' requiring IPv6 connection, but other Google products have not been generally available over IPv6, says Google. "That's why we created Google over IPv6." more

Transformation - the Real Business Case for NFV and SDN

2016 has seen a steady flow of announcements on successful Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) Proof-of-Concept deployments, mostly focused on virtualizing Customer Premise Equipment (vCPE). This has been a relatively straight forward starting point because unlike many other NFV applications, the vCPE use case does not involve complex activities like having to scale in or out individual services. more

What Prevents IPv6 Deployment in Europe

ZDNet UK has an article on IPv6 and what may slow down its deployment. Jay Daley, from Nominet points out to the fact that the current IPv6 allocation policy used by RIPE NCC is geared towards ISPs. This is a complaint I have heard time and time again. Under the current policy, you have to show to RIPE NCC that you are going to allocate 200 address blocks to your customers before you are allocated a /32 block. Obviously, a large corporate network cannot afford to renumber every time it switches ISPs... more

IPv6 and Formula One Racing

The Telecom World converged in greater numbers than ever before on Barcelona last week for the annual Mobile World Congress (MWC). This years' motto: Redefining Mobile. To see one of the worlds' leading automotive industry executives, Ford Motor's Bill Ford Jr. delivering a keynote was yet another illustration of the growing osmosis between Telecommunications and other industry verticals. more

Thoughts on IPv6 Security, Take Two

A few months ago, I made a post about IPv6 security. I've caught some flak for saying that IPv6 isn't a security issue. I still stand by this position. This is not to say that you should ignore security considerations when deploying IPv6. All I claim is that deploying IPv6 in and of itself does not make an organization any more or less secure. This point was made by Dr. Joe St. Sauver, of the University of Oregon... more

Report on Today’s State of DNS Services

The Domain Name System, or DNS, has come a long way since its early days and the constant expansion of consumer activity and security concerns has raised further awareness about the critical role of the DNS. However, as the Yankee Group Research points out in a recent report, "there are more changes coming that are also raising the profile of DNS -- notably the move to cloud computing and the migration to IPv6." Suffice to say this is "Not Your Father's DNS". The report titled, "DNS: Risk, Reward and Managed Services" takes a fresh look at today's state of the DNS and the pros and cons of in-house, ISP and managed service provider DNS management options. more