IPv4 / IPv6 
Study Questions
Jan 27, 2004
Yousef Rabah and Seth Hopper

Part I


Deploying IPv6

1. What do Network Adminstrators nedd  to rely on to deploy Netoworks?

- Rely on network address translation (NAT). Complex and time consuming.
some things would not work with it.

2. What are the benefits of IPv6? What is its main driving force? How does
that affect soceity (i.e. hardware tools ..etc) ?

- Always on connection. the need of global IP address. Benefit of large
address space. benefits of auto-configuration, more efficient mobility 
managment, and integrated IPsec

3. What is Metcalfe's law? How does it play a role in the deployment? Look
throw the obsticles that are faced in the deployment of IPv6? What ways
are there to overcome these obstecles? Is it a risky? What does it involve
(i.e. world communication in deployment ) ?

- Power of network increases with n2 for n nodes.
- IPv4 has huge population of users, and IPv6 has smaller number of users.
- IPv6 is missing infrastructure required for realistic production-level
  deployment of the protocol. 
- Needs hardware support, OS support, middleware, applications, managment tools
  and trained technical staff. ALl these is an investment, needs money.

4. What is Tunneling ?
- Provides a convenient way for an IPv6 island to connect to other IPv6
  islands across an ocean of IPv4 networks. Look @ fig. 2. Shows how an IPv6
   packet can be encapsulated with in the payload of an IPv4 packet.


5. Why does Japan (and other Asian counties) need to deploy IPv6 sooner
than later?  What is the first step needed to do before deployment ?

- Japan and other Asian countries have limited amout of IPv4 numbers. They 
   are much more closer of running out b/c of the limited number. So the 
   fact is that they need or already have started in process of researching
   and in some parts deploying it.


6. What is DSTM? Is communication between IPv4 and IPv6 a good idea, why ?

- Dual Stack Transition Mechanism. It temporally allocates an IPv4 address
  to the IPv6 node. DSTM will be important in the later stage. 
- In the early time of deployment, the 6-to-4 and applocation proxies will prob. 
play the most important role.