IPv6 allocation to CoZa means it's time for corporates to wake up to the next-generation of technology, says Enterasys.
At the end of June, AfriNIC finally ratified a long-discussed policy that allows the allocation of 'Provider Independent' address blocks of the next-generation Internet Protocol (IPv6) to certain end-user organisations, most notably our registry in South Africa: Uniforum, which manages co.za domain names.
Now at last, local domain names (the 'www.name.co.za' text) can be resolved to IPv6 addresses - IPv6 is now a public reality in SA.
"This is big news for South Africa; very big news, but few will know or care what it means. Both corporates and Internet service providers in this country have been very slow to look at IPv6, and this is partly understandable: without domain name resolution, the application of the technology would be mostly experimental," says Martin May, regional director of Enterasys.
IPv6 brings several benefits, including simpler and faster routing (meaning less processing power and memory needed by network devices), much better security, and more support for mobile devices, an increasingly important issue as we move to wireless networking technologies.
Most importantly, IPv6 has a vastly bigger address space. Experts estimate the current pool of the current version of the Internet protocol (IPv4) will run out of addresses by the latest in 2011, possibly sooner. "There is a chicken and egg situation," says Enterasys' May. "Because ISPs are not offering IPv6 services, corporates cannot implement the technology, and because corporates are not asking for IPv6 services, ISPs are not investing in the technology.
"Unless this situation changes soon, we're going to end up with a crashing urgency to build skills and local services in two to three years."
The main threat to South African business is there is not just a requirement to implement IPv6 network infrastructure; many core business applications will need to be reworked to support IPv6. "LAN administrators need to start to get to grips with IPv6, and so do application development teams," says May.
South Africa is lagging badly in IPv6 technology, outpaced by countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Senegal. While the US is also lagging, Europe and Asia are streaking ahead with commercial implementation. "For businesses looking at high performance, highly-secure networks, it is critical that they start to put together a project team to look at IPv6 migration. It's not just a matter of updating some software on a couple of routers applications: security systems and the data services you get from your ISP all need to be evaluated," he concludes.
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Enterasys Networks investor group is led by The Gores Group, LLC and Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC. Enterasys' unique Secure Networks solutions secure any network from any vendor and ensure the integrity and performance of IT services and the business users that rely on them. Operational in South Africa for well over a decade; the local company is supported by a growing channel. Consistently delivering superior bespoke solutions, Enterasys has established an impressive client base in both the public and private sectors.
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