IPv6 Readiness and Architecture Approach

The most fundamental IT component of an enterprise is the network. The network must evolve to meet changing business requirements. Communication is required for organizations to function, yet costs need to be appropriately managed, and the portfolio of network services delivered by IT organizations should be formalized. The network architecture is a major subcomponent of the technology infrastructure architecture that specifies the design of the communications network. The network architecture framework specifies information such as the network components, their configuration and operating procedures. (EA 874 Enterprise Technology Infrastructure Architecture). 

Most organizations today do not have IPv6 enabled or deployed for production use, it is foreseen that support for IPv6 devices and communication will become increasingly demanded. There are many areas that require IPv6 ready, one area that will require IPv6 is Internet facing services and support for IPv6 only clients. Another area is the Internet of Things, which will bring a proliferation of IP connected devices. IT organization will have to prepare for this very lengthy and large transition to the next generation IP protocol, IPv6. The challenge of migration from an IPv4 network to a federally mandated IPv6 network is becoming a reality, and careful planning of your IPv6 transition will be critical to your success.

Organization needs to develop a future architecture to support current and future requirements for IPv6 based communication. The architecture should address and support the new business solutions that will require the next generation of IP Protocol. In addition, prepare a transition outline and roadmap to realize the architecture. Some envisioned basic preparation phases should cover scoping, training, business cases, and audit of baseline situation.

Organization first needs to assess the implications of IPv6 for the environment, including product compliance, address provisioning and management, routing policies, security, and infrastructure design. This assessment also identifies opportunities to take advantage of IPv6 features and functionality to simplify the environment, as well as areas of risk to be considered during transition to IPv6.

Organization should consider to establish an IPv6 working group to determine the training requirements for levels of IT personnel, such as network engineers, system engineers, helpdesk analysts and security engineers. Determine scope(s) of IPv6 deployment, identify business use cases such as Internet of Things. Audit the existing environment to determine the baseline “as-is” situation and then define the “To-Be” architecture blueprint for each scope.