ARIN Upgrades IPv6 Network Services with Dual Stack GigE Internet Access from NTT America

Business Wire, Sept 2, 2008

Internet Authority Leads By Example with Support from World's Leading Tier 1 Provider of IPv4 / IPv6 Transit

NEW YORK -- The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN), the nonprofit corporation that manages the distribution of Internet number resources, including both IPv4 and IPv6 address space, to Canada, many Caribbean and North Atlantic islands, and the United States; and NTT America, a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of NTT Communications Corporation and a global IP network services provider that operates the world's largest Tier 1 IPv6 backbone, today announced NTT America has provided ARIN with a dual stack over a Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) connection. The GigE connection, at speeds up to 1,000 megabits per second (mbps), running both IPv4 and IPv6 or dual stack, ensures website and e-mail communications to and from ARIN are visible over both IPv4 and IPv6. Additionally, all other systems or communications ARIN operates can continue running over IPv6.

"As an organization, ARIN is in a position to both participate in IPv6 adoption and encourage the Internet community to do the same. This is not just a choice but a necessity as the depletion of IPv4 address space continues," said Raymond A. Plzak, President and CEO of ARIN. "NTT America's upgrade of our network provides us not only new IPv6 services, but another opportunity to prove our commitment as an organization to using IPv6."

Only about 15% of the IPv4 address pool remains, and that percentage decreases every month. Today, there are people voluntarily attempting to reach mail and web servers via IPv6 connections to the Internet. Once the IPv4 address pool is depleted, people will try to reach the Internet and company contacts through IPv6 only. Therefore, any organization that has a website and communicates via e-mail must ensure those services are visible over both IPv4 and IPv6. The NTT America IPv6 transit service is ARIN's 4th IPv6 deployment and the new IPv6-enabled circuit is an upgrade to an existing NTT America transit circuit. ARIN has had IPv6 deployed on its network since 2003.

"ARIN is a major advocate for IPv6. As one of the five Regional Internet Registries, they have firsthand knowledge and experience with the depletion of IPv4 address blocks and the necessity to move to IPv6," said Michael Wheeler, vice president of Sales and Business Development for NTT America. "The Internet and engineering communities hold ARIN in high regard and this lead-by-example upgrade to IPv6 services will no doubt inspire confidence that IPv6 is important, functional and useable."

The Regional Internet Registries (RIR) have collectively allocated about ten /8s of IPv4 address space each year, on average. If that trend continues unchanged, by mid-2012 ARIN and the other RIRs will no longer be able to allocate large new blocks of IPv4 address space. This scenario assumes that demand does not increase -- which is unlikely, given the ever increasing number of Internet-enabled devices. This scenario also assumes no industry panic (hoarding, withholding, etc.), no Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) or RIR policy changes, and no other external factors influencing address space allocations, any of which could push the IPv4 depletion date earlier. Once IPv4 address space is depleted, Internet growth cannot be sustained without adopting IPv6.

With available /8 address blocks diminishing and annual address allocations increasing, ARIN is now actively advising the Internet community that IPv6 is necessary for any applications that require ongoing availability of contiguous IP address space. Recognizing the inevitability of IPv4 depletion, on May 7, 2007, the ARIN Board of Trustees passed a "Resolution on Internet Protocol Number Resource Availability," stating that IPv6 is necessary to allow continued growth of the Internet. NTT America embraces this call to action for service providers and others that require ongoing availability of IP address space to make immediate efforts to run dual stack within their networks.

The NTT Communications Group provides IPv6 Gateway services that are available globally and allow enterprises to connect to the world's only commercial-grade Global Tier 1 IPv6 Backbone operating in four continents--North America, Europe, Asia and Australia--and serving thousands of customers. In addition, NTT America has improved upon the inherent security features of IPv6 with the creation of its IntelliSecurity IPv6 Managed Firewall solution. The solution complements the NTT Communications Group's existing suite of managed IPv6 Gateway Services, and satisfies the need for increased security for IPv6 users. NTT America also provides IPv6 transition solutions through its IPv6 Transition Consultancy, which supports companies' and U.S. federal agencies' smooth transition to the upgraded IPv6 network with specialized products and knowledge accumulated through the NTT Communications Group's successful commercial implementation of IPv6 technology. NTT Communications Group has been directly involved with the development and deployment of IPv6 technology since 1996.