What does IPv6 mean to the enterprise?

Transcription

1 What does IPv6 mean to the enterprise?

2 As enterprises begin transitioning to the new IPv6 format for assigning IP addresses, many roadblocks and challenges may occur that will make the process less than optimal. This document briefly discusses some of those challenges along with the impact of IPv6 on the enterprise. 2 Brochure

3 A brief history Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is essentially the original version of the Internet Protocol developed by DARPA and made publicly available for assigning IP addresses in late The IPv4 format uses an addressing system of 32 bits, which provides an addressing capability of approximately 4.3 billion addresses. While 4.3 billion IP addresses were initially more than sufficient to support the global Internet address requirements, as Internet access became more readily available, the number of available IP addresses began to shrink. The global supply of available IPv4 addresses has either already been depleted in many countries or will soon be depleted. As an example of this problem, in late September of 2015, the American Registry of Internet Numbers (ARIN) ran out of available IPv4 addresses*. IPv6 is the new protocol specifically designed to fix the available address limitation issue. IPv6 will make 340 undecillion (approximately 340 trillion, trillion, trillion) potential new IP addresses available. This increase in available IP addresses is made possible through the use of a new 128-bit format. By contrast, IPv4 used only a 32-bit format, thereby providing approximately 4.3 billion addresses. IPv6 provides a significant improvement in available IP addresses over IPv4. * IPv4 Address Cupboards are Bare in North America, NetworkWorld, , arin-finally-runs-out-of-ipv4-addresses.html 3 Brochure C&C services delivered from a single communications backend

4 IPv4 address: IPv6 address: 2005:0DB7:0325:0003: 0246:0400:F8FF:FE17:35CF Anatomy and structure of an IP address Table 1 provides an overview of the anatomy of and differences between the IPv4 and IPv6 address structures. Tables 2 and 3 provide deconstruction of both an IPv4 and IPv6 address. Table 1. Comparison of IPv4 and IPv6 address structures IPv4 IPv6 IP address size 32-bit number 128-bit number IP address format Dotted Decimal Notation ( ) Hexadecimal Notation (2005:0DB7:0325:AB00:0246:ABCD) Prefix notation / :0DB7:0325::/48 Number of available IP addresses 2 32 (4,294,967,296) 2128 or 3.4 x 1038 (340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456) Table 2. IPv4 address deconstruction IPv4 address: IP address component Description Class A network identifier (8 bits) Host identifier (24 bits) Class B network identifier (16 bits) Host identifier (16 bits) Class C network identifier (24 bits) Host identifier (8 bits) Class D and E network identifier (32 bits) Table 3. IPv6 address deconstruction IPv6 address: 2005:0DB7:0325:0003:0246:0400:F8FF:FE17:35CF IP address component DB :0400:F8FF:FE17:35CF Description Region (AFRINIC, APNIC, ARIN, LACNIC, RIPE NCC) Local Internet Registry (LIR) or Internet Service Provider (ISP) Customer Subnet 64-bit Extended Unique Identifier (EUI) assigned directly to the host 4 Brochure

5 Expanded capabilities The new IPv6 protocol provides the enterprise with new and expanded capabilities that were previously unimaginable. These include: Increase in available IP addresses Anycast addressing has been improved, increasing network efficiency Address auto-configuration of devices occurs without manual intervention (i.e., plug and play), simplifying network configuration Elimination of Network Address Translation (NAT) provides true end-to-end connectivity at the IP layer, helping to enable the support of new services End-to-end transparency and connectivity overcomes problems created by NAT, allowing peer-to-peer applications such as VoIP or streaming media to work more smoothly and efficiently Extension attribute packets have been defined (encryption, management, performance, Quality of Service [QoS], security) and assigned their own unique packet structure; if required, they are inserted between the routing header and the payload Fixed 40-byte header size, allowing IPv6 routing devices to be optimized for increased packet forwarding rates Flow label QoS field has been added to the existing Differentiated Services (DiffServ) and Integrated Services (IntServ) QoS attributes to provide more efficient routing and delivery of information Full deployment of mobile and wireless devices is much easier Mobile IPv6 allows mobile devices to continuously update a server with its location, providing improved performance, reliability and seamless mobility More efficient routing due to reduced routing table size Multicast improvements provide for more efficient networks through directed data flows Network configuration becomes much simpler No IP-level checksum makes packet processing more efficient Simpler packet header structure minimizes time required to process the header, increasing packet processing speed Stateless auto-configuration Table 4 compares the general characteristics of IPv4 and IPv6. Table 4. IPv4 vs IPv6 general characteristics comparison IPv4 IPv6 Address space 32 bits 128 bits Packet size 576 bytes required, fragmentation optional 1280 bytes required, without fragmentation Packet fragmentation Done by routers and sending hosts Done by sending host only Packet reassembly Hosts make best-effort attempt Hosts make best-effort attempt (up to 1500 bytes) (up to 576 bytes) Header length 20 bytes 40 bytes Checksum field in header Required Eliminated IPsec Optional Recommended Quality of Service (QoS) No identification of the packet flow Flow level field to identify the packet flow IP address assignment Static (manual) Dynamically via DHCP server Static (manual) Stateless address auto configuration (SLAAC) Stateless DHCPv6 Stateful DHCPv6 Prefix delegation No Yes These and other capabilities demonstrate how IPv6 provides the enterprise with additional features and benefits. By migrating to an IPv6 infrastructure over time, the network will run faster, more smoothly and efficiently, with less hands-on management required. 5 Brochure

6 Impact on the enterprise The technological improvements that are available through IPv6 provide the enterprise with increased benefits, efficiencies and capabilities, making it easier to incorporate and support new technologies. For example, enterprises dealing with the issue of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) will be able to more easily support and incorporate BYOD into the network strategy because many new devices now have IPv6 enabled by default. Administrators will be able to rely on the plug-and-play capabilities to allow use of such devices on the network. In addition, new mobility and collaboration services will become much easier to develop, deploy and use, increasing employee productivity. The technological improvements that are available through IPv6 provide the enterprise with increased benefits, efficiencies, security and capabilities, making it easier to incorporate and support new technologies. Machine-to-machine (M2M) communications as well as other Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices that communicate via the Internet are also becoming more prevalent across the enterprise. To take advantage of the new capabilities associated with M2M and IoT, all of these devices will require IP addresses as well. Under IPv4 it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to assign IP addresses to all of these devices, but with the large number of available IP addresses under IPv6 it is not a problem. Through the use of IPv6, enterprise networks will have more than enough available IP addresses to support expansion plans for the foreseeable future. Therefore, the implementation of IPv6 must be good for enterprises, right? Yes it is, but what effect will IPv6 implementation have on IT, network and system administrators? 6 Brochure

7 Assessment, planning and implementation As enterprises begin to plan for the conversion to and implementation of IPv6 within their environment, they quickly realize that this is a significant undertaking. The primary problem enterprises face today is not deciding whether to transition to IPv6, it is how to do it and when. They cannot simply flip a switch and begin using the new IPv6 format. Prior to any implementation, enterprises must perform a readiness assessment to evaluate and analyze their existing information and communications technology (ICT) network infrastructure to identify challenges to be overcome or problems that may occur as they transition, and then develop a strategy and plan to migrate to the new IPv6 protocol. The readiness assessment involves several steps and needs to include a thorough inventory, evaluating the DNS provider, the network, applications and programs, hosts and servers and all other associated equipment to ensure support for the IPv6 protocol. This will drive development of the inventory. The assessment should also include reviewing all vendors or suppliers to ensure feature parity in IPv6. In addition, the enterprise should determine which applications or services may be immediately impacted if they are only able to connect via IPv4, to ensure support for these will continue. A priority level should then be assigned to these based on the business requirements. Finally, the enterprise needs to evaluate the level of knowledge the IT staff has with respect to IPv6 to determine if or what level of training is required. After the initial analysis is complete, the enterprise must decide whether to move forward with a full and complete IPv6 infrastructure and implementation or if a dual stack implementation would make more sense. A dual stack implementation involves running both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols in parallel from within the same operating system. This option provides the enterprise with more flexibility because it provides time to gradually convert the network from IPv4 to IPv6. However, to run in this mode, the network infrastructure must be able to support both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. The primary problem enterprises face today is not deciding whether to transition to IPv6, it is how to do it and when. After completing the initial analysis and deciding which approach to use, the enterprise must develop a migration and implementation plan. The plan should consider the logistics of moving, converting or installing new equipment and include a schedule and timeline for running both IPv4 and IPv6 in parallel (if that option is chosen) and then converting all equipment to IPv6. The plan should define how to communicate the transition and implementation that will take place to any affected parties as well as how/when/where any required training will be provided. It should also acknowledge the potential impact of the IPv6 migration on end users. Although end users should not experience any problems from the migration to IPv6, problems may occur, so proper planning and notification will ease the transition. 7 Brochure

8 Conclusion IPv6 is a significant improvement over the previous IPv4 protocol and provides the enterprise with enhanced capabilities previously unavailable. Enterprises will gain significant benefits by migrating their networks to IPv6, but must ensure that proper steps are taken to assess their current situation, plan accordingly for the migration to IPv6, and then manage the implementation. Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks or trade names of their respective owners. Product code: PR EN (April) Nokia 2016 nokia.com