[clug] IPv6

[Steve Walsh]

On 01/16/2011 09:59 AM, Paul Wayper wrote:
> Yes, I've read that document.  It seems to me to be quite quaintly optimistic
> about the time frames.  Implementation by mid December 2012?  Firstly, that's
> nearly two years after the (primary) run-out of IPv4 addresses.  Secondly, I
> still suspect we'll see agencies begging for extra time to roll out IPv6 for
> all sorts of nice-sounding but hand-waving reasons.

The "runout" you're talking about is the last 7 x /8's. There's still 
about another 12-18 months after that before the "ipocalypse" comes along.

All Commonwealth agencies need to fill in an online survey reporting 
their % progress towards being IPv6 ready. It's been that way since 
about 2006. I'm sure no Departmental DepSec wants to be the one to start 
saying "oh, yeah, about that, 6 years hasn't been enough time, can we 
get another 5?" That is what is referred to in the public Service as a 
"Career Limiting Move".

> Thirdly, and I think most crucially, it really doesn't say much about what
> form the actual IPv6 deployment must take.  Is it full IPv6 deployment inside
> and out and between all departments?  IPv6 on all external-facing
> applications?  IPv6 on all business-to-business links?  Or just an IPv6
> address for the public website?  If a government department just deploys an
> IPv6 address as an FTP site, is that OK as a 'deployment'?
As I understand it, it's "all critical public services must be available 
on an ipv6 address". So, I'd take that to mean www, smtp, etc.
> That document seems very thin on detail.  Is there some larger tome that
> specifies exactly what's expected, what's mandatory, and what the penalties
> are for non-compliance?
I believe that would probably be classified somewhere, as such 
information can be used for nefarious purposes. See my last paragraph 
for ways to get it.
> I would be prepared to bet that some agencies haven't even been assigned IPv6
> address spaces yet - and I note this isn't even addressed by the document
> linked to.
Well, if you need fill out a survey every quarter saying how close you 
are, one can fairly safely assume that people have been allocated the space.

> And partly addressing Steve's comment about equipment costs, and referring to
> my earlier analogies, I'd say that not building levee banks, buying flood
> insurance and constructing dams because they all cost too much and give
> engineers and accountants nice toys to play with is a pretty poor excuse when
> you have flood waters carrying stuff away.
Don't quite get the analogy. My references were to private sector 
companies, not Public Government. The Australian Government has known 
about ipv6 coming for a long time, and has budgeted for it accordingly.

> Anyway, I'm getting off this horse.
I would suggest you do the following;

1) Contact AGIMO and ask them for more info

2) write to your local member and highlight your concerns that no single 
government department has even begun to deploy ipv6 technology, then 
wait for the reply.