Griffith University IPv6 Guidelines. IPv6 Guidelines

Transcription

1 Griffith University IPv6 Guidelines Prepared by: Carolina Jaimes, Business Analyst; Greg Vickers, Project Manager Last modified: 21 August 2013 (version 1.0)

2 Contents Executive Summary Audience Scope Introduction What is IPv Rationale for implementing IPv Impacts if IPv6 is not implemented What does IPv6 Ready mean How will IPv6 be implemented When will IPv6 be implemented Where will IPv6 be implemented Exceptions Referenced Material Glossary... 7 * * * * * - i - CRICOS No E

3 Executive Summary This guideline is aimed at Executives, Directors and (INS) managers at Griffith University. This document provides a guideline to determine IPv6 capability in all IT infrastructure, systems and applications. The document describes what IPv6 is and how all Internet devices must connect to the Internet using an Internet Protocol (IP) Address. It describes that Griffith University must implement IPv6 in order to provide a greater address space than IPv4. As IPv6 is the best option for scaling the Griffith University IP addressing scheme to current and future demands. If IPv6 is not implemented, translation gateways will have to be implemented to allow connections between IPv6 and IPv4. The document follows on to describe the 5 levels of IPv6 compliance which are; IPv6 Incapable, IPv6 Not Supported, IPv6 Acceptable, IPv6 Ready, and, IPv6 Compliant. The document describes how Griffith University proposes to implement IPv6 with dual stack transition technology. Additionally, it describes when and where IPv6 will be implemented and any exceptions. For assistance with IPv6 requirements, or for equipment purchase information in regards to IPv6, please contact INS via ipv6@griffith.edu.au Error! Bookmark not defined CRICOS No E

4 1. Audience This document is intended for University Executives, Directors and (INS) managers at Griffith University. 2. Scope This document provides a guideline for all areas of the University to determine Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) capabilities in Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, systems and applications. This guideline should be consulted before any IT infrastructure and system procurement process, to ensure that IPv6 is considered as a procurement requirement. 3. Introduction Communication between computers on the Internet is done via the network Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). IPv4 has a limited number of network addresses and global and regional authorities have run out of the allocation of these addresses as specified in the IPv4 to IPv6 transition whitepaper by Telstra (see: IPv4 to IPv6 Telstra whitepaper). IPv6 is the next generation of network protocol available for addresses on the Internet and has more than billions of times more addresses than the total IPv4 address space. IP version 6 (IPv6) is being deployed by many businesses, organisations and Universities and is available to Griffith University from AARNet, our Internet Service Provider. Computing devices that users connect to Information and Communication (ICT) services will move to using IPv6. Subsequently, all student facing services will also be available via IPv6 and in some cases these services will not support or use IPv4 in the future. IPv4 will continue to be available on the Griffith University network for devices which are not capable of connecting via IPv6. These devices can be made available to IPv6 via proxy devices which translate between IPv6 and IPv4. For assistance with IPv6 requirements or for equipment purchase information in regards to IPv6, please contact INS via ipv6@griffith.edu.au CRICOS No E

5 4. What is IPv6 All Internet devices must connect to the Internet using an Internet Protocol Address or IP Address. An IP Address is a unique number to identify a device on the Internet. IP is used for the communication of data across a network such as between Griffith University campuses, or the Internet. A fundamental feature of IP is that it provides unique global network addressing amongst computers - IP underlies the operation of the Internet. IP version 4 (IPv4) is the Internet protocol most in use today. IPv6 is the successor to IPv4 for general use on the Internet; IPv6 has a much larger network address space than IPv4 which provides greater flexibility in allocating addresses and routing traffic. IPv6 is designed to provide a greater address space than IPv4 (128 bit address for v6 addresses versus 32 bit addresses v4), which improves routing efficiency, provides better security, support, management and increased mobility. These changes and features benefit Griffith University and all users of the Internet. 5. Rationale for implementing IPv6 The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) which is the global top level registration body exhausted its supply of available IPv4 addresses in The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) which allocates IP addresses in the Asia Pacific region also ran out of IP addresses for Australia in At Griffith University our IPv4 addresses allocations are running out. Existing IPv4 address space can be resumed and re-allocated, but this is a temporary measure that increases management overhead significantly. The University has two options to address this IP address shortage. Move to IPv6 addressing, or significantly increase private addressing using IPv4 Network Address Translation (NAT). IPv4 NAT is restrictive and will not meet the future networking requirements of the University. Using IPv6, the University will have 79 x addresses, with no need to use any translation technology. IPv6 will increase efficiency of address space and greater capacity for Internetconnected mobile phones, tablets and other mobile computing devices, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephony and other network services. IPv6 is the best option for scaling the Griffith University IP addressing scheme to current and future demands. A strategy for the implementation of IPv6 was created by the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), which recommends that all Government agencies should have IPv6 ready hardware and software in place by the end of 2011 and have all systems IPv6 enabled by end of Griffith University has not had to implement IPv6 within this timeline; however this Government strategy document is a good reference for the planning and implementation of IPv6. Implementation of IPv6 is a low-cost business continuity strategy to ensure that future opportunities are not missed. IPv6 is now available on the core of the Griffith University network infrastructure and subsequent deployment of IPv6 to all ICT systems has been proposed to be carried out, commencing with the implementation of IPv6 on the wireless networks in CRICOS No E

6 6. Impacts if IPv6 is not implemented According to the World IPv6 launch organisation, over 90 universities websites in 28 countries have been enabled in IPv6 (e.g. Monash, Curtin, QUT, Harvard 1, China Education and Research NETwork 2 ). Griffith will need to have IPv6 in place to be able to collaborate with these Universities using services running over IPv6 (e.g. High Performance Computing, IPv6 videoconferencing). IPv6 is more secure than IPv4, as address space scanning is nearly impossible. Additionally, it provides the built in ability to perform traffic encryption, this mean no additional hardware is required to secure the host to traffic, i.e. VPN concentrators. If IPv6 is not implemented, translation gateways will have to be implemented to allow connections between IPv6 and IPv4. These gateways will slow down connections between IPv6 clients and these services. This will add network complexity and management overhead. Collaboration, video and voice conferencing experience is heavily impacted if there are protocol translation gateways in the way instead of direct IPv6 interconnectivity. In time, client devices such as smart phones, tablets and laptops, will attempt connection to a network via IPv6 as their preferred connection method. Such devices may not be able to connect via IPv4, or may have to be manually configured to connect via IPv4 by students or university help desks. This will negatively impact the student experience and will require extra IT support for students. IPv6 uptake is growing rapidly in places such as China and India where some international students come from. If the content that is provided by Griffith University is not accessible via IPv6, potential students will not be able to view that content CRICOS No E

7 7. What does IPv6 Ready mean The University has determined five (5) levels of IPv6 compliance for IT infrastructure, systems and applications. IPv6 Compliance Level IPv6 Incapable IPv6 Not Supported IPv6 Acceptable IPv6 Ready IPv6 Compliant Description Device or application cannot or will not use IPv6 and must use IPv4. Device or application is both incapable and the vendor is unable or unwilling to update to IPv6. Device or application is supported with IPv6 proxy (F5) with nodes running on IPv4 unchanged (e.g. service runs on IPv4, proxy devices provides IPv4 and IPv6 interface to client devices). The application stack is able to run dual-stack and handle IPv6 connections from clients but the application may still use IPv4 internally. The application is able to run in an IPv6 only environment as well as in a dual-stack environment. 8. How will IPv6 be implemented IPv6 will be implemented via a gradual transition over five to ten years. During this time, services and content will be accessible via IPv4 and increasingly via IPv6. To enable dual protocol access during the transition period, the following three categories of transition technologies were developed in conjunction with the development of the IPv6 protocol: Tunnelling: encapsulates one protocol within another (e.g. IPv6 in IPv4 and IPv4 in IPv6) Protocol Translation: translates packets between protocols (e.g. IPv6 to IPv4) Dual Stack: support both protocols in parallel within one network Griffith has considered these options and has selected to use the dual-stack path to enable both protocols in our network, as dual stack is the industry accepted direction for the introduction of IPv6. This will ensure that we continue to provide the current functionality of IPv4 even while deploying IPv6 in our systems and applications. New IT initiatives being implemented will have to consider IPv6 as a requirement, and IPv6 questions are now included in the checklists for new ICT projects and services. For assistance with IPv6 requirements or for equipment purchase information in regards to IPv6, please contact INS via ipv6@griffith.edu.au CRICOS No E

8 9. When will IPv6 be implemented IPv6 is available now on the core of the Griffith University network. IPv6 is planned to be deployed to the Griffith University network and services, incrementally over the next five to ten years. 10. Where will IPv6 be implemented IPv6 will be implemented on any device or server which is connected to the network or is a part of the network. Some devices may not be able to use IPv6 and these are covered in the exceptions detailed in the following section. 11. Exceptions Some network devices may not be capable of IPv6, and may only be able to connect via IPv4. In such cases, the following exceptions apply: If these devices have to be available via IPv6, they can be made available via address translation between v4 and v6, or placed behind a device like the F5 proxy. For new implementations of IT infrastructure and services that cannot connect via IPv6, an exception will need to be logged with the Technical and Information Systems Architecture Design Advisory Groups, to allow the implementation CRICOS No E

9 12. Referenced Material IPv4 to IPv6 Telstra whitepaper Transition: IPv4 to IPv6 white paper Telstra Enterprise website Telstra ENterprise - IPv6 Benefits & Features Telstra Enterprise website. [ONLINE] Available at: [Accessed 16 July 2013]. AGMIO IPv6 Transition IPv6 Transition Progress of Australian Government The AGIMO website IPv6 Transition Progress of Australian Government The AGIMO website. [ONLINE] Available at: [Accessed 16 July 2013]. 13. Glossary Term AGIMO AARNet APNIC Dual Stack F5 proxy IANA IT Infrastructure IPv4 Description Australian Government Information Management Office - Aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Australian Government Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) activities. Australian Academic Research & Education Network - Griffith University s Internet service provider. Asia Pacific Network Information Centre - Regional Internet registry that allocates IP numbers in the Asia Pacific region. Is the AGIMO recommended IPv6 transition strategy that support both IPv6 and IPv4 protocols in parallel within one network. Is a reverse proxy which placed between a client and a server in a network infrastructure. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority - global top level registration body for Internet assigned numbers. Information Technology Infrastructure refers to hardware, software, network resources and services. Internet Protocol version 4 - (refer to section What is IPv6 ). The predecessor to IPv6-7 - CRICOS No E

10 IPv6 NAT VoIP Internet Protocol version 6 - (refer to section What is IPv6 ) Network Address Translation - modifies IP address information in IPv4 headers which is restrictive and will not meet the future networking requirements of the University. Voice over Internet Protocol - is used for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions CRICOS No E