IPv6 Frequently Asked Questions

Transcription

1 IPv6 Frequently Asked Questions CTAM Advanced Cable Solutions Consortium Q CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

2 Overview The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing s (CTAM) Advanced Cable Solutions Consortium is comprised of industry executives from cable, network, programming, hardware and software companies who are CTAM Corporate Initiatives Partners. The consortium works together to influence the design, development & delivery of cable products and services such as video on demand, interactive television, advanced video and multi-platform video, to name a few. Background on IPv6 Items that connect to the Internet cable modems, set-tops, computers, televisions, smart phones, tablets all need an identifying address in order to connect. The problem is - the Internet is running out of addresses. IP addresses are distributed by geographic regions. In February 2011, the last big global batches of addresses were released, which triggered a sequence that will end in a global transition to an addressing scheme called IPv6 from IPv4. The transition to IPv6 dramatically increases the numbering space for IP addresses experts tend to frame the discussion with such colorful language as enough for every atom on the surface of the planet and as many addresses as there are known stars in the galaxy. How many IP addresses, exactly, can IPv6 support? The numeric equivalent of 340 trillion trillion trillion (yes, that s trillion, three times) or 340 undecillion. Frequently Asked Questions John Brzozowski, Chief IPv6 Architect and Distinguished Engineer for Comcast, championed the development of this questionnaire in partnership Leslie Ellis, Senior Technology Advisor to CTAM with the mission to inform and education industry affiliates about the transition. Many thanks to John and Leslie for their energy and efforts on this very helpful document. The FAQ addresses three audiences cable industry employees and residential and small-to-medium business customers. While the information included may not answer every single question, it will give you a strong foundation of the types of questions that need to be asked as you prepare your connected devices, home and business networks for the IPv6 transition. There are also a few website resources referenced if you want to locate additional information. Please contact Angie Britt at or angie@ctam.com should you have questions. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

3 Table of Contents I. General Questions... 3 II. Consumer Questions and Answers... 4 II. Small-to-Medium Business Questions... 7 III. Cable Industry Questions... 7 IV. References I. General Questions Q. Why are we even having this discussion why does IPv6 matter? A. Here s the situation: The world is running out of IP addresses, and there s a growing list of things that require them -- beyond computers, laptops, Wi-Fi routers and the earliest wave of equipment that hooked up to the Internet. Smart phones, tablets, and the latest version of HDTVs all come with ways to connect to the Internet, either over a wire or through the air. It is anticipated that by 2015, the average U.S. household will contain at least six devices that require an Internet connection. Many households exceed that tally already. All items that connect to the Internet do so by first acquiring an IP address. The problem is that the existing and global pool of IP addresses, known as IPv4, is running out. A new version, IPv6, will resolve the matter of having enough addresses going forward, but not for the installed base of device outfitted with IPv4-only connectivity. Q. What are the types of devices that might be impacted by the transition? A. Anything that includes a way to connect to the Internet, or an in-home network, over Ethernet, MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) or Wi-Fi. Devices that connect to the Internet do so by first acquiring an IP address. That means routers and everything after them: Computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones, set-top boxes, webcams, smart TVs, game consoles, voice over IP adaptors, even digital picture frames and printers. Some devices require more than one IP address, like a cable modem that also serves as a way to provide voice services to your home phones. Note that post-transition, all existing IPv4 devices will continue working as always. Newer devices designed to support both IPv4 and IPv6 simultaneously will prefer the use of IPv6. Q. What s the difference between an IPv4 and an IPv6 address? A. The primary difference between IPv4 and IPv6 addresses is length. IPv4 addresses are 32 bits long; IPv6 addresses are 128 bits long. This means that an IPv4 address is made up of 32 ones and zeroes, while an IPv6 address is made up of 128 of them 128 binary digits. This massive length forces IPv6 addresses to be written using a different notation than IPv4 addresses (hexadecimal) and thus makes them very easy to distinguish from IPv4 addresses. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

4 Below is an example of each: Example IPv4 Address: Example IPv6 Address: 2001:db8::100 Q. When will we run out of IPv6 addresses? A. Never is too absolute to say with any confidence, but not anytime soon. One of the interesting parts of the IPv6 transition is how colorfully involved network engineers talk about the size of the v6 address space, compared to v4. There will be more IPv6 addresses than known stars in the galaxy; than atoms on the surface of the Earth. You ll have more IP addresses in your house than there are grains of sand on the planet. II. Consumer Questions and Answers Q. Will my in home network be impacted by the transition? A. It depends on your home network, but likely yes. Home networks exist to facilitate sharing of devices your printer is a great example. Home networks generally are served by one key element the wireless/wi-fi router. Depending on how long ago you purchased and installed your router, you may be using one that is IPv4-only. Your IPv4 router will continue to work, post-transition, but over time, new devices that you bring into your home -- which will increasingly be IPv6-only -- may not work as intended. The problem with not upgrading, in general, is that you won t get to take advantage of IPv6. In these early days of the transition, when so much of the work is plumbing, it is difficult to articulate the future benefits of IPv6. Near term advantages are mostly characterized in terms of potential glitches and service interruptions that may or may not happen, and are difficult to troubleshoot. One clear early advantage of upgrading to IPv6 accrues to home office workers and small business owners who use static IP addresses for web sites, servers, and other servers. Static IP addresses cannot be provisioned in a home network that shares addresses, like with IPv4 and in-home networks that use Network Address Translation. By contrast, and because of the vastly larger IP address space intrinsic to IPv6, using static IP addresses will be nearly commonplace. Q. When will this transition take place? A. It has already begun. Internet addresses are assigned out of global pools serving five regions of the world: Asia/Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa and Latin America. The Asia/Pac region depleted its store of IPv4 addresses in April of All other regions are anticipated to deplete in Because of this impending exhaustion of the free pools, ISPs and content providers around the world have already begun enabling IPv6 on the network services they offer. Likewise, many companies have started selling IPv6 capable devices. This will continue to grow over the next several years. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

5 Q. Who holds the addresses? A. The IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) is the global organization responsible for managing Internet numbers including IP address resources. The IANA in turn delegates IP address blocks to five regional Internet Registries (RIRs) ARIN ( APNIC ( RIPE ( AFRINIC ( and LACNIC ( The RIRs in turn delegate IP address blocks, both IPv4 and IPv6 to organizations in each of their regions based on their community defined allocation policies. Q. How can I find out whether my in-home electronics are IPv6-capable or not? Where do I look? Who can I call? A. Generally speaking, the answer to this depends on the device class. Most computers, laptops and tablets already conform to IPv6, and have for some time. The growing universe of connected consumer electronics (CE) devices, however, is in various states of IPv6-readiness. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is working with its members and the global IPv6 community to develop a logo program for multiple device types; check back at for progress. Q. Is there an online database or some way to look up my (router/connected TV/IP device) to see if it s IPv6-capable? A. Yes: Q. What happens if my devices are not IPv6-capable? What goes wrong? A. Subscribers who upgrade in-home equipment to IPv6 will not experience issues. When broadband service providers and ISPs run out of IPv4 addresses, some may share a single IPv4 address among several subscribers. When sharing, performance issues can occur, which vary depending on the device and type of service in use. Generally speaking, services and devices that are chatty with the Internet streaming video, gaming may bog down or perform erratically. A fairly technical test of such IPv4 performance issues can be found here: Q. Which video services providers are ready, when it comes to this transition? A. Different providers are in different states of readiness. Comcast, as an example, is in production / live with IPv6 for its high speed data service offering ( Many other operators are also in trial with IPv6. Please check with the web site of your service provider for current status. Q. What is native-dual stack? A. The term native dual stack is tech-speak for innately supports both IPv4 and IPv6 versions. It means that the device you re using, and/or the network it is connected to via your broadband provider, is upgraded to simultaneously support both modes, in the background. Meaning that it s Internet as usual, for you and your stuff. Technically, it means your connection is provisioned for at least one IPv4 and at least one IPv6 address. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

6 Q. What is carrier grade network address translation (CGN)? A. In essence, carrier grade NAT (where NAT stands for Network Address Translation ) is a transition technique in use by some broadband service providers and ISPs. It involves sharing remaining IPv4 addresses amongst the devices requiring an Internet connection. In many ways, it is reminiscent of party line telephone systems of earlier times. Q. Why should I care about native-dual stack vs. carrier grade network address translation (CGN)? A. Knowing the difference between technology approaches is always useful; generally speaking, you re better off if you re connected to a broadband service provider or ISP that is deploying native dual stack. Q. What steps can I take to make sure I ll be able to do all the things I do on the Internet after the IPv4 address pool runs out? A. Start with the wireless router in your house. If it isn t marked IPv6, it probably isn t IPv6- compantible, and it should be replaced with one that is. (Make sure the new router supports IPv6; check back with for lists of certified routers). Also check with your broadband service provider for any guidelines, transition programs, or additional information. Q. Will there be websites I won t be able to see if I m not using a device with an IPv6 address? A. Not pre-transition. After the global IPv4 address space is exhausted, some websites may only exist in IPv6 format. Those websites will not be viewable to devices connected to the Internet via an IPv4 address. Q. What if some of my devices are IPv6 capable and others aren t? Will one impact the other? A. That scenario is likely. Most newer computers and tablets were prefigured for IPv6 support; but many other Internet-connectable gadgetry, like smart phones, video streaming boxes, and connected TVs are not yet (2012) outfitted with IPv6 capabilities. The good news is, an IPv4 device will not impact an IPv6 device, or vice versa. Q. Are all IPv6-capable products compatible? A. Generally speaking, the answer to this depends on the device class. Most computers, laptops and tablets already conform to and are interoperable with IPv6, and have been for some time. Devices such as routers conform to an IETF standard ( to become IPv6 compliant. The growing universe of connected consumer electronics (CE) devices, however, is in various states of IPv6-readiness. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is working with its members and the global IPv6 community to develop a logo program for multiple device types. Logo compliance will likely involve interoperability testing. Check back at for progress. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

7 Q. Who should I contact if my Internet content isn t working properly? A. Start with your broadband service provider s web site. Indicate any reasons why you believe your issue may be IPv4/IPv6 related. Also be prepared to contact the manufacturer of your consumer electronics and other services which may not be offered by your Internet provider. II. Small-to-Medium Business Questions Q. I am a small business owner/manager how will this impact my businesses web site content and functionality? A. If your business relies heavily on web-based transactions, you ll want to upgrade for IPv6 functionality. Likewise if your customer base is any shade of technological early adopter, to maintain your profile as a forward-thinking business. Reasoning: Transitioning to IPv6 ensures you re set to accept and interact with the growing roster of Internet-connected screens, beyond computers and laptops. Q. I have employees in remote locations - how will the transition impact our network and Internet communications? A. Companies, like residential Internet users, will be affected by the transition to IPv6. Companies of all types and sizes must plan for the transition to IPv6 including network, system, and application upgrades. Without IPv6, employees working at home may experience problems using Voice over IP or VPN services, if their service provider or carrier deploys Carrier Grade NAT techniques. Q. Should I notify my customers about the transition and if so, what should I tell them? A. Yes. The first step is to determine the extent by which you and your customers will be impacted by the transition. One size does not fit all here. Once the impact has been assessed, it is important to communicate with your customers and partners. III. Cable Industry Questions Q. Is this like the digital transition? A. Yes in that it s a transition; no in most every other way. There isn t, for instance, a hard cutover date. A June 2012 date is set for World IPv6 Launch Day, during which more carriers, service providers, Internet participants and websites will turn on IPv6. So, there is a known turn on date, but no set (or known) depletion or turn off date. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

8 Q. What do impacted industry segments need to do, technically and tactically, to make sure consumers aren t negatively impacted? A. The answer will vary by industry segment, but in general: Plan early. Test thoroughly. For cable providers, planning began as long as a decade ago. The two most recent versions of the DOCSIS cable modem 2.0 and 3.0 support IPv6, for instance, and measures are underway to transition to native dual stack industry wide. Q. I hear a lot about native dual stack vs. carrier grade network address translation (CGN)? What are the basics of it? A. The term native dual stack is tech-speak for innately supports both IPv4 and IPv6 versions. It means that the being used, and/or the network it is connected to via a broadband provider, is upgraded to simultaneously support both modes, in the background. Technically, it means connections are provisioned for at least one IPv4 and at least one IPv6 address. By contrast, carrier grade NAT (where NAT stands for Network Address Translation ) is a transition technique in use by some broadband service providers, and involves sharing remaining IPv4 addresses amongst the devices requiring an Internet connection. In many ways, it is reminiscent of party line telephone systems of earlier times. Q. Are all DOCSIS-based modems capable of supporting IPv6? Or does it depend on the version (1.1, 2.0, 3.0, etc.)? A. DOCSIS 3.0-based gear intrinsically supports IPv6; some DOCSIS 2.0-based gear (CPE, not CMTS) is field-upgradable to IPv6. Q. Why is IPv6 not backwards compatible to IPv4? A. When IPv4 was created in 1978, 4.3 billion addresses seemed like plenty. Now, with 7 billion people on the planet, many of whom regularly use as many as five devices with IP addresses, 4.3 billion seems puny. Still, millions approaching billions of devices exist globally that use IPv4 addresses that can t be changed, or reliably upgraded, to IPv6. The bottom line here is IPv6 was not designed to be backwards compatible with IPv4. One of the main design goals of IPv6 was to ensure the Internet could grow in a much more scalable manner moving forward. While IPv4 and IPv6 are not compatible at the protocol level, devices and/or networks can be backwards compatible by implementing dualstack. Q. What are the types of devices in a typical home that need or will need an IP address? A. Anything that includes a way to connect to the Internet, or an in-home network, over Ethernet or Wi- Fi. Devices that connect to the Internet do so by first acquiring an IP address. That means routers and everything after them: Computers, laptops, tablets, smart phones, set-top boxes, webcams, smart TVs, game consoles, voice over IP adaptors, even digital picture frames and printers. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

9 Some devices require more than one IP address, like a cable modem that also serves as a way to provide voice services to your home phones. Note that post-transition, all existing IPv4 devices will continue working as always, but newer devices designed to simultaneously support both IPv4 and IPv6 will prefer the use of IPv6. Q. Will the content I am delivering to connected devices be impacted? A. Possibly, particularly if online transactions are involved. If an end point is behind an IPv4 router, for instance, or if the transaction intersects with a broadband network provider using the transition technique known as Carrier-grade Network Address Translation (CGN), more variables exist that could impede transaction completion. Enabling IPv6 now is the best way to lower the impact of the transition on your network. Q. Is there a format or standard I should be adhering to when creating new content? A. Q. How do we (MSOs) know, internally, how many of our customers are using older-style / IPv4 routers in their homes, behind the cable modem? A. Many MSOs already developed in-house tools for cable modems, to determine device type by MAC (Media Access Control) address. Those tools are being adapted in parallel with IPv6-based in-home router installations, to determine whether an installed, IPv6-capable router is picking up both address types (IPv4 and IPv6), so as to more fully quantify the fielded base. Q. I heard there was a World IPv6 Test Day this past summer (2011). What happened / what were the test results? What s next -- what is World IPv6 Launch? A. On World IPv6 Test Day, on June 8, 2011, more than 400 participants all along the Internet ecosystem turned IPv6 on. The Internet Society coordinated the effort, anchored by companies like Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Akamai, and Limelight, as well as service providers like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and more. The intent of the tests was to assess IPv6 brokenness. What happened: At Comcast and Time Warner Cable call center volumes were normal; most websites that turned IPv6 on, left it on. A follow-on and quietly successful World IPv6 Launch Day occured June 6, More here: Q. What still needs to be done, generally speaking? A. The big remaining work, aside from getting the world s broadband pipes plumbed for the transition, is with consumer electronics equipment. Making sure connected TVs, game consoles, tablets, smart phones and other Internet-connectable gadgets are built to include IPv6 capabilities. CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q

10 Q. Where can I go for more technical information? A Q. Where can I go for more information about how to talk to consumers? A. Associations and organizations developing information and messaging about IPv6 to the consumer marketplace include the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA, the Cable Telecommunications Association for Marketers ( and the Internet Society ( among others. IV. References - Lists of certified routers. Consumer Electronics web site - A technical test for IPv4 performance issues American Registry for Internet Numbers - ARIN IPv6 Wiki! - Cable industry technical web site CTAM IPv6 FAQ 3Q