Major Websites commit to 24-Hour test flight for IPv6

January 12th, 2011

GENEVA & RESTON, VA – Facebook, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), are joining major content delivery networks Akamai (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW), and the Internet Society, for the first global-scale trial of the new Internet Protocol, IPv6.

On June 8, 2011, dubbed “World IPv6 Day,” participants will enable IPv6 on their main services for 24 hours.

With IPv4 addresses running out this year, the industry must act quickly to accelerate full IPv6 adoption or risk increased costs and limited functionality online for Internet users everywhere.

The companies are coming together to help motivate organizations across the industry—Internet service providers, hardware manufacturers, operating system vendors and other web companies—to prepare their services for the transition.

The Internet Society is supporting World IPv6 Day as part of its efforts to accelerate IPv6 deployment.

“2011 is a pivotal year in IPv6 deployment, and World IPv6 Day will prove to be an important milestone,” commented Leslie Daigle, the Internet Society’s Chief Internet Technology officer.

“By providing an opportunity for the Internet industry to collaborate to test IPv6 readiness we expect to lay the groundwork for large-scale IPv6 adoption and help make IPv6 ready for prime time. The greater the scope of the trial, the more effective it will be for all participants so we wholeheartedly welcome additional participants.”

IPv6, the successor to the protocol currently used on the Internet, was designed in the late 1990s but has not seen deployment on a global scale. With IPv4 address space running out, the industry cannot afford to wait much longer.

Vint Cerf, Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist and co-inventor of the TCP/IP protocol stack, commented, “In the short history of the Internet, the transition to IPv6 is one of the most important steps we will take together to protect the Internet as we know it.”

Cerf added, “It’s as if the Internet was originally designed with a limited number of telephone numbers, and we’re soon going to run out.” Google has offered a separate IPv6-only version of search on ipv6.google.com since early 2008, and during World IPv6 Day the company will enable IPv6 for its main websites.

Given the diversity of technology that powers the Internet, the global nature of the trial is crucial to identify unforeseen problems.

“Participating in World IPv6 Day will allow us to obtain real-life data that we can use to ensure a seamless user experience as we transition to IPv6,” said Adam Bechtel, Vice President for Yahoo’s Infrastructure Group.

World IPv6 Day marks a key milestone in enabling more and more computers and smart phones to come online. As more of the world moves online, IPv6 will be critical for the Internet to reach its full potential as a catalyst for growth, innovation and economic prosperity. IPv6 provides over four billion times more addresses than IPv4, which will help connect the billions of people not connected today.

Facebook views the rollout of IPv6 as a critically important step to keep the world connected. “As an industry, we’re working together to ensure future generations continue to have open and direct access to the Internet as we do today,” said Jonathan Heiliger, vice president of Technical Operations at Facebook. “The number of web-connected devices is exploding, and World IPv6 Day is a crucial step in ensuring they can all communicate.”

One of the goals of World IPv6 Day is to expose potential issues under controlled conditions and address them as soon as possible. The vast majority of users should be able to access services as usual, but in rare cases, misconfigured or misbehaving network equipment, particularly in home networks, may impair access to participating websites during the trial.

Current estimates are that 0.05% of users may experience such problems, but participating organizations will be working together with operating system manufacturers, home router vendors and ISPs to minimize the number of users affected. Participants will also be working together to provide tools to detect problems and offer suggested fixes in advance of the trial.

For more information about World IPv6 Day, how to get involved, and links to useful information for users, visit www.internetsociety.org/worldipv6day.

Major Websites commit to 24-Hour test flight for IPv6

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