Case Study
The U.S. government has put in place IPv6-compliance mandates to help with the IPv4-to-IPv6 transition. Such mandates require government agencies to have their websites, email and other services available over IPv6.
Let’s consider that you’ve been appointed as the IPv6 transition manager at a relatively small branch of a government agency (e.g., a branch of the Social Security agency in a medium-size town). Your main responsibility is to produce a plan with a timetable for achieving compliance with the IPv6 mandate. The plan should specify the guidelines, solutions, and technologies for supporting IPv6 throughout the agency branch. The plan should include the following, among other things:
Summary of the applicable government IPv6 mandate
Brief description of the networking facility at the branch (LANs, servers, routers, etc.)
Summary of the main IPv6-related RFCs that pertain to the IPv6 support
Cooperation with ISPs and equipment vendors to implement IPv6 support
Summary of the solutions and technologies to be employed in implementing IPv6 (e.g., dual-stack, tunneling, translation)
Timetable for completion of IPv6 transition
Plan for testing the IPv6 compliance in expectation of an audit by the government
Sample Solution
IPv6 Transition Plan for [Branch Name] - [Government Agency]
To: Agency Leadership From: [Your Name], IPv6 Transition Manager Date: June 12, 2025 Subject: Plan for Achieving IPv6 Compliance
1. Executive Summary of Applicable Government IPv6 Mandate
The U.S. government has established clear mandates for the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 across all federal agencies. These mandates are driven by the depletion of IPv4 addresses and the need for a more robust, secure, and scalable internet infrastructure. Key aspects of the mandate applicable to our agency branch include:
- Public-facing services (websites, email): Must be accessible via IPv6.
- Internal network services: Gradual transition to IPv6 for internal applications, servers, and devices.
- Procurement: All new IT equipment and software purchased must be IPv6-compliant.
- Deadlines: Specific deadlines for achieving various stages of IPv6 capability, with an overarching goal of full operational capability. While the exact final date might vary by specific revision, the general direction is towards complete IPv6 adoption. For this plan, we will assume a target of 100% operational IPv6 for public-facing services within 12 months and significant internal progress within 24 months.
- Audits: Agencies are subject to regular audits to ensure compliance.
2. Brief Description of the Networking Facility at the Branch
Our branch of the Social Security agency in [Medium-Size Town] operates a relatively small, yet critical, network infrastructure to serve its local community.
- Local Area Networks (LANs):
- Primarily Ethernet-based, supporting approximately 50-75 workstations (desktops and laptops) across various departments (customer service, claims processing, administration).
- A few wireless access points (WAPs) provide Wi-Fi for staff and a limited guest network.
- Current LAN switches are a mix of older (Gigabit Ethernet capable, but potentially without robust IPv6 management features) and newer (IPv6-ready) models.
- Servers:
- Approximately 5-7 physical servers located in a small server room, running critical applications such as:
- Active Directory Domain Controllers (DNS, DHCP)