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Episode 17 In this episode we drift from theory into practice and talk about using SDN/NFV in the real world, or put another way, in OpenStack. In this episode of the IP6 show, I speak with Ian Wells about his work in OpenStack, if it’s IPv6-ready yet and a couple of practical examples of OpenStack & IPv6 in action. Ian is a Technical Lead at Cisco and works as an OpenStack architect in the Cloud CTO group. He will also be our main speaker at the upcoming California IPv6 Task Force Meetup on the topic of IPv6 and SDN / NFV and CLOUD better known as Cloud. It’s no secret that OpenStack’s debut with IPv6 was less than stellar, in fact, Neutron didn’t work in IPv6 at all... or was that a feature? It has made a lot of progress but still has a ways to go. Ian guides us through the state of the art and what still needs to be done to use OpenStack in v6 in production ISP networks.    Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode

Episode 16 Think you know SDN and NFV? Think again, or maybe better put, think deeper. IPv6 in this context should not be considered as an IPv4 replacement but as a rich tool to build a dynamic infrastructure upon which SDN/NFV can thrive. In this episode of the IP6 show, I speak with Dr. Chip Popoviciu, a thought leader in the union of IPv6, SDN, NFV and Cloud technologies, to get his take on future networking and what’s important for you to know, so you’re in the know and not left behind. Chip founded Nephos6, a company focusing on IPv6, Cloud computing and SDN/NFV. He’s recognized as an IPv6 and Cloud expert, having authored two books “Deploying IPv6 Networks” and “Global IPv6 Strategies”, several IETF RFCs and multiple patents. Chip takes us past our comfort zone with IPv6 -- beyond addressing, to use its other capabilities to support advanced networking in a way that enables IT organizations to be service-oriented. We talk about the four layers of agility: IPv6 supporting SDN/NFV supporting, Cloud supporting services that can be offered individually to customers/employees. We also discuss virtual appliances vs NFV and the similarity of the evolution of SDN/NFV with Cloud computing and how to avoid the “OpenStack debacle” that happened when they introduced IPv6 support. Listen closely and Dr. Chip with broaden your views of what’s possible in networking today.  Here’s What We&rsq

Episode 15 Wondering how IoT is being rolled out in cities? Look up… into the light. Streetlights are the perfect gateway to producing smart cities. Changing their bulbs to LEDs pay for themselves in 3-5 years but also present the opportunity to build out wireless mesh networks. These elevated networks allow more lighting control/efficiency and provide the foundation for other smart city services such as power and parking. In this episode of The IPv6 Show, I speak with Sterling Hughes about lessons learned in deploying Silversping’s IPv6 networks in cities around the world. Sterling has been developing and deploying IPv6 networks for the Internet of Things for years. In fact Silver Spring is currently on their 2.0 version so lots of lessons have been learned from their early deployments. Listen to this episode to learn what he learned and to hear Sterling’s thoughts on standardization in the IoT space – where we are today and where things are headed. 

Episode 14 You may not know it but if you got a new Android phone with your recent T-Mobile contract, you’re running IPv6… natively… most of the time. T-Mobile’s transition solution still needs to accommodate v4 websites and apps that don’t play by the IP rules but over 50% of data flow is happening over native IPv6. In this episode of the IPv6 show I talk with Cameron Byrne about the path he took T-Mobile on to reach IPv6 nirvana and what he learned along the way. Cameron is a Member of the Technical Staff and is Director of Technology at T-Mobile US. He’s been with T-Mobile for 8 years, and is responsible for their end-to-end IP network architecture. Cameron is also the co-author of the IPv6 transition mechanism 464XLAT, which he used in T-Mobile’s transition to IPv6.  All the “smart” guys in the room said dual stack was the way to go but Cameron had other ideas. In a mobile environment it was too costly and didn’t make technical sense. So knowing the endgame was IPv6, he set out to find a solution based on a native IPv6 network.  The strategy had to be refined along the way, especially for the last 1%. Although it was out of T-Mobile’s control, in the end it was their problem that Skype, Netflix and Spotify didn’t work so further refinement was necessary that led to the 464XLAT translation mechanism. 

Episode 13 Which protocol do you think dominates today? Well, it depends how you measure it but if you ask those on the cutting edge, IPv6’s stock has risen, lifting it out of the protocol ghetto, and making it the default protocol when developing a transition strategy. In this episode of the IPv6 Show, Suresh describes the state of the art in Transition Mechanisms, how IPv6 became a first class citizen and the trends he sees that you should be aware of.   Suresh is an Expert in IP network transformation at Ericsson where he works mainly on IPv6, wireless networks, SDN, IP Mobility protocols and multicast. He is the chair of a number of IETF working groups including Softwires which defines the standards for transitioning between IPv4 and IPv6 networks.    Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode Mobile has had IPv6 support for a long time.. it’s just that no one turned it on

Episode 12 Curious about why IPv6 transition mechanisms work the way they do? It all began 20 years ago, when, even then, it was obvious the Internet would run out of its most precious resource – addresses. In this episode of The IPv6 Show I interview Tony Hain, the first chair of the IETF working group on IPv6 transition mechanisms where he pulls back the curtain on how and why our transition mechanisms came about and what he things of them now.   Tony is CEO of Hain Global Consulting. He’s been active in the IETF since 1987 where he was on the Internet Architecture Board and was co-chair of the working group developing IPv6 transition technologies. He was IPv6 program manager for Windows XP at Microsoft and then IPv6 Technology Leader at Cisco. 10 years ago he was recognized as an IPv6 Forum Fellow and he now runs his own consulting business.     The transition mechanisms we use today were originally designed in an age when the Internet consisted primarily of research and education networks run by academics and government. By the time the transition mechanisms were finished and ready to be implemented, a change in who owned and operated the Internet had occurred. The age of innocence ended when the quarterly profits of large

Episode 11 Ever seem like your webpage is taking forever to load? This could be because behind the scenes your connection can’t make up its mind on using v4 or v6. In this episode of The IPv6 Show, Dan Wing and Andrew Yourtchenko take us through how their RFC strives to keep our eyeballs happy.   Dan and Andrew are the co-authors of RFC 6555, otherwise known as Happy Eyeballs. Both are employed by Cisco and have been working on IPv6 for years.     Happy eyeballs. Do you have them? Sometimes the path to a clean connection in a v4 and v6 environment isn’t clear cut and it’s the end user that pays the price by having to wait… and wait, sometimes over 30 seconds for a connection to be made. When this happens you get angry eyeballs, sometimes so angry they turn IPv6 off to end the confusion and then forget about it, even after things start working. This isn’t good for IPv6 so RFC 6555 provides an algorithm to avoid the sluggishness and ultimately get more people using IPv6.

Episode 10 A lot of progress has been made in their first six years but there’s more work to be done.  In this episode of the IPv6 show I speak with IPSO’s head honchos to discuss the networking challenges facing the Internet of Things and what they’re going to do about them. The IPSO Alliance is a global forum, including many Fortune 500 high tech companies. It serves as a thought leader for the various communities looking to the Internet Protocol as the network to connect Smart Objects.  The challenges facing IP in the Internet of Things six years ago when IPSO was formed sound a lot like the challenges it faces today.  But this can be deceiving.  Changing an industry as large and complex as IoT will take time, a lot of time.  And while IPSO may be out-manned and out-gunned by competing special interest alliances, they are on the right side of technical history.  All other networking protocols, over time, will be drowned out by the rising tide of IP and IPv6. But this is not without its challenges.  IP is not an end by a means to an interoperability end.  Routing bits between smart objects is a good start but these objects need to be smart enough to operate in different deployments, cracking the current silos they live within. Only then will interoperability foster innovation and lower costs, allowing the Internet of Things to approach its true potential.   Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode Short overview and history of IPSO Current networking challenges in IoT Work still to be done with IP and IoT The difference between using the Internet’s protocol and its philosophy Thoughts on “network as a service” Challenges in the Industrial Internet of Things Challenges in the consumer Internet of Things The IPSO Challenge 2014 Items Mentioned in this Episode IPSO-Alliance (http://IPSO-Alliance.org) IPSO-Alliance Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/IPSOAlliance) Patrick Wetterwald on gogoNET (http://www.gogo6.com/profile/PatrickWetterwald) Gateway (

Episode 09 Is the Industrial Internet of Things Ripe for an IPv6 Make-over Too?  It all comes down to value.  Value created by getting a better handle on the bottom line or even better, increasing the top line with innovative business models made possible by a strong IP foundation.  In this episode of The IPv6 Show, Rob Bamforth takes us through an analysis of IP’s value proposition and the challenges it faces along the way. Rob is a Principle Analyst for mobile and smart connectivity with UK based business research and analysis house, QuoCirca. He designed and built his own energy efficient house equipped with sensors and actuators and has a side interest in the open platform software company, EcoSteer that captures data from sensors and energy meters for environmental and energy monitoring. Before being given a sexier name by outsiders, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) was the origin of what we now call the Industrial Internet of Things.  Built with mostly proprietary networking tech, it was a bottom line management tool, measuring the cost variables in a business’ business model.  Simple serial communication was often adequate and with a 10-20 year lifecycle, there was not need to mess with it.  However something changed over time.  In the consumer world the Internet Protocol was gaining more popularity and employees using SCADA couldn’t help but notice.  But is IP worth the effort to upgrade existing SCADA installations to the Industrial Internet of Things?  It all comes down to value.  Rob makes the point that value is increased when: More of the same things are measured/affected for the same cost. Different but related data about things are measured and correlated. As more is measured, a Metcalf law-like value comes into play. Measuring and affecting more data about more things opens a window to innovation with the possibility of contributing to the top line in addition to reducing the bottom line. Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode IP and finger-held devices The disadvantages of proprietary IoT environments How a strong and open lower layer spurs upper layer innovation The biggest benefit of IPv6 for the Industrial Internet of Things How IP increases value in old-school SCADA environments

Episode 08 IPv6 is taking over the Internet, at lease the Internet that connects people. Will it dominate the Internet of Things too?  There are two endings to this story.  In this episode of the IPv6 Show we discuss one such ending with Internet of Things expert, Joachim Lindborg and how his Swedish rationality takes him there. Joachim is an expert in the Internet of Things focused on energy efficiency and visualisations.  He’s worked in both large utility companies and small start-ups.  He is currently CTO of Sustainable Innovation. The Internet of Things is an information system of connected physical objects.  Getting them to talk to each other is easy – the tech has been around for years.  Doing so in a practical way, that is, a cost effective way is where the challenges lie.  Today, two of the most expensive components of an Internet of Things deployment is the cost of the network nodes and their integration.  Why?  Because components are proprietary and each deployment is a one-off system integration play.  A key to the growth and proliferation of the Internet of Things is standardizing its building blocks and their language of communication.  This will greatly reduce cost but as important it will liberate time and energy better spent further up the stack.  Joachim argues the same Internet Protocol that connects people is being considered for this job but it is not as obvious a winner as you may expect.

Episode 07 OK, you’ve decided it’s time to learn IPv6.  Now what?  In this episode of the IPv6 show Alvaro shares, from his vast training experience, where you should start. As they say, every journey begins with a single step – take yours in the right direction by following his sage advice.Alvaro is an IPv6 consultant and trainer that has operating experience in IPv6 production n+etworks around the world.  He has contributed to European IPv6 R&D projects and the IETF.  He is an IPv6 Forum Gold Certified trainer that has taught over 40 IPv6 workshops totaling more than a 1000 hours. As we’ve learned, 70% of gogoNET members start learning IPv6 on their own at home – they just don’t have the time at work.  And when at home, where do they go?  To the Internet of course.  Cyberspace is vast so don’t waste your time – check out the best sources of online information first and then decide on your next steps.   Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode The first steps you should take on your journey to learn IPv6:

Episode 06 Learning IPv6?  If you’re like most people your first hands-on experience will happen in the safety of your own home. In this episode of the IPv6 show Jeff shares the first steps you should take when building out your very own IPv6 network.Jeff is a frequent industry speaker, freelance writer, IPv6 Forum Certified Trainer, network instructor and course developer to major networking manufacturers, and IPv6 technical lead and co-author on Guide to TCP/IP 4th edition.  He has over 28 years of networking experience.Last time we checked, over 70% of gogoNET’s members got their first hands-on experience in their home network.  Makes sense since most networking professionals don’t have time to learn IPv6 at work but they know that, at any moment, they may be tapped to deploy IPv6.  Great but where do you start?  In this episode we get into the details with Jeff on these first steps: Connect to your IPv6 nodes (computer, game machine, printer, PVR, …) to your wired or wireless home network.  Play & observe Get connected to the IPv6 Internet.  Play & observe Visit IPv6 websites and services. Play & observe Visit IPv6 test sites.  Play & ob

Episode 05 IPv6 in your Enterprise?  Why bother?  You’re not affected by the lack of addresses.  In this episode of the IPv6 Show I discuss this with new author Ed Horley.  Turns out the biggest reason to deploy IPv6 is… you probably already have.  Ed is a Principal Solutions Architect with Groupware Technology and is the co-chair of the California IPv6 Task Force.  He is also member of the Infoblox IPv6 Center of Excellence and has authored the Apress book, Practical IPv6 for Windows Administrators. Although Enterprises are not directly affected by the dwindling supply of v4 addresses they still need to consider deployin6 IPv6 because of indirect effects.  Each Enterprise is different but one thing is the same - waiting or migrating to IPv6 are both going to cost money and time – the question is how you want to spend your budget and man-hours.  Externally, the use of addresses conservation tech by an Enterprise’s ISP can affect its business operations and online sales.  Internally, Enterprises are likely running IPv6 whether they know it or not so if IPv6 is not deployed there are security risks.  The good news is there are best practices for the order of steps to deployment to avoid the biggest potential problems and gotcha’s but the first step in all scenarios is gaining the IPv6 knowledge you need to make the forthcoming networking decisions.  

Episode 04 Overwhelmed by IPv6, let alone IPv6 security?  Worried that you’re already fending off enough barbarians at the IPv4 gate?  Relax… In this episode of the IPv6 Show we chat with IPv6 network security expert and author, Scott Hogg to get his take on why you should chill and how to get started.   Scott Hogg is CTO for Global Technology Resources, Inc. (GTRI), a founding member of the Rocky Mountain IPv6 Task Force, and a member of the Infoblox IPv6 Center of Excellence. Scott has authored the Cisco Press book on IPv6 Security and writes a popular blog for NetworkWorld.com.  Scott has helped many enterprises and service providers with their IPv6 planning, training and deployment.   There are a lot of risks in IPv6 security today because it’s new.  And because it’s new mitigating these risks are relatively simple… for now.  Getting in the game early while the IPv6 traffic is still under 10% affords you a safe harbor – a relatively safe place and time to learn IPv6 security and its best practices.  Security threats will rise with the v6 tide and so will your ability to mitigate them if you’re there, along the way.

Episode 03 IPv6 is moving forward but is network security keeping pace?  As v6 packets start to flow there are still a lot of concerns about network security.  In this episode of the IPv6 show we discuss networking security with subject matter expert Joe Klein to get his take on the top risks in IPv6 security today. Joe is a Cyber Security Subject Matter Expert for the IPv6 Forum and contributor to the NIST “Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6” and the US government CIO’s "Planning Guide/Roadmap toward IPv6 Adoption". He is currently “Expert Cyber Architect” at SRA International and a contributor to several IPv6 Intrusion Detection Systems. IPv6 security cannot simply be a replica of what’s currently in place for IPv4.  Training must occur, policies must be extended and new tech must be introduced into networks.  Where v4 networks were designed to be, and live within a homogeneous IP environment, v6 networks need linkages to the v4 world.  This makes for interesting and dangerous times between now and when v6 matures and its operators have gained the same level of experience as they currently have with IPv4.   Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode

Episode 001 IPv4 and IPv6 are not compatible therefore to migrate to IPv6 you’ll need new products or new product functionality. Perhaps you’ll go with your existing vendor or maybe this is the right time to shop around. In either case it’s important to know your options. In this episode we discuss one such option - A10 Networks’ Thunder platform. Our guest Rene Paap is Product Marketing Manager at A10 Networks and an expert in IPv6. Rene originally hails from the Netherlands where he worked as a Unix Sys Admin and Network Administrator for a couple of ISPs. He crossed over and started working for vendors in 2004 and joined A10 in 2012 in part because of a shared belief in the importance of IPv6. A10 Networks has been an IPv6 player pretty much since day one when they offered IPv6 as part of their load balancing functionality. Since then they’ve build out an appliance product line that handles all three key areas of IPv6 networking: Enabling websites and other outward facing services to be reachable in IPv6 Preserving existing IPv4 pools