World IPv6 day

The following has been adapted from the World IPv6 Day page, hosted at the Internet Society (ISOC).

What is World IPv6 Day?

This is a trial period where a number of major web sites will provide their content on both IPv4 and IPv6. This is being led by the Internet Society (ISOC). more information is posted on their World IPv6 Day page.

World IPv6 day, scheduled for 8 June 2011, is a global-scale test flight of IPv6 sponsored by the Internet Society. On World IPv6 Day, major web companies and other industry players will come together to enable IPv6 on their main websites for 24 hours. The goal is to motivate organizations across the industry -- Internet service providers, hardware makers, operating system vendors and web companies -- to prepare their services for IPv6 to ensure a successful transition as IPv4 address space runs out.

Why is World IPv6 Day necessary?

The address space used by the current version of the Internet protocol, IPv4, is expected to run out in 2011. Without action, we risk increased costs and limited functionality online for Internet users everywhere. The only long-term solution to this problem is adoption of IPv6, which provides over 4 billion times more space. IPv6 is used extensively in many large networks, but it has never been enabled at a global scale. World IPv6 Day will help industry players work together to support the new protocol on an accelerated timeline. With major web companies committing to enable IPv6 on their main websites, there are strong incentives for other industry players to ensure their systems are prepared for the transition.

How, specifically, does World IPv6 Day help motivate change and test the technology?

World IPv6 Day will act as a focal point to bring existing efforts together. For the first time, players from all parts of the industry will be be able to work towards the common goal of enabling IPv6 at a large scale with minimal disruption. By acting together, ISPs, web site operators, OS manufacturers, and equipment vendors will be able to address problems, such as IPv6 brokenness in home networks and incomplete IPv6 interconnection. Also, on the day itself, any global scalability problems can be found in a controlled fashion and resolved cooperatively.

What, specifically, still needs to happen for the industry to effectively transition to IPv6?

All major Internet industry players will need to take action to ensure a successful transition. For example:

  • Internet service providers need to make IPv6 connectivity available to their users
  • Web companies need to offer their services over IPv6
  • Operating system makers may need to implement specific software updates
  • Backbone providers may need to establish IPv6 peering with each other
  • Hardware and home gateway manufacturers may need to update firmware
How will World IPv6 Day impact Internet users?

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.

What can organizations do to join World IPv6 Day?

We welcome additional participants. Find out how to participate.

A list of things you might check, if you are technically inclined:
  • If using 6to4: make sure protocol 41 is not blocked by a firewall.
  • If using 6to4 without an explicit tunnel provider: Consider switching to tunnelbroker.net, sixxs.net, or gogo6 aka freenet6. They provide managed tunnels.
  • If using Teredo, make sure UDP port 3544 is permitted out, and responses back.
  • If only the MTU test fails, consider lowering the MTU on your tunnel interface. Also, make sure that ICMP6 type 2 messages are permitted.
  • Turn off tunneling on your home router, unless your ISP set that up for you.
  • If you have a business-owned device: Get your IT department to help. They may not want you to disable IPv6.
  • Home users: Consider disabling IPv6. Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: Microsoft specifically advises against this, as it breaks HomeGroup features, including sharing.
  • Google IPv6 Adoption