INTERNET-DRAFT John Curran Expires: August 1, 2008 January 30, 2008 Intended status: Informational An Internet Transition Plan draft-jcurran-v6transitionplan-02 Status of this Memo By submitting this Internet-Draft, each author represents that any applicable patent or other IPR claims of which he or she is aware have been or will be disclosed, and any of which he or she becomes aware will be disclosed, in accordance with Section 6 of BCP 79. Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet- Drafts. Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress." The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/ietf/1id-abstracts.txt. The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html. This Internet-Draft will expire on August 1, 2008. Copyright Notice Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2008). Abstract This memo provides one possible plan for transitioning the Internet from a predominantly IPv4-based connectivity model to a predominantly IPv6-based connectivity model. Requirements Language The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [RFC2119]. J. Curran Expires August 1, 2008 [Page 2] Internet-Draft An Internet Transition Plan January 2008 Table of Contents 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2. A Phased Transition Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2.1 Preparation Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2.2 Transition Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.3 Post-Transition Stage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 3. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5. Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6. Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 7. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7.1. Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 7.2. Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Appendix A. Change History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Author's Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . . . . . . 8 1. Introduction This memo provides one possible plan for transitioning the Internet from a predominantly IPv4-based connectivity model to a predominantly IPv6-based connectivity model. Other transition plans are possible and this purely informational document does not create an obligation on any party to undertake any of the actions specified herein. The use of RFC 2119 requirements language is purely for the purpose of documenting expectations if a transition plan were to be adopted by Internet community consensus. The purpose of specifying this particular transition plan is to allow for overall assessment of the viability of accomplishing the desired transition and to continue the discussion of Internet-wide transition plans in general. 2. A Phased Transition Model It is not reasonable to specify the changes that each and every system connected to the Internet must undergo in order to achieve the desired transition, as the number of connected systems precludes creating one plan that contains such a level of detail. Further, while there are common scenarios that may be specified for transitioning individual networks (refer to [RFC3750] [RFC4057] and [CAMPUS]), the specific timeline and mechanisms utilized for a given network will be unique. Despite these challenges, it is necessary to coordinate expectations on an overall basis so that Internet-wide connectivity is maintained throughout the transition. J. Curran Expires August 1, 2008 [Page 3] Internet-Draft An Internet Transition Plan January 2008 This document specifies a three phase transition plan that includes preparation, transition, and post-transition phases, and delineates the necessary activities within each phase based on the role that an organization plays in the provision and use of Internet services. An important distinction made in this transition plan is identifying the explicit requirement for existing end-site organizations to add IPv6-based connectivity to their public-facing servers during a transition phase. An accelerated adoption of IPv6 for public-facing servers enables new organizations in the post-transition phase to be connected to the Internet only via IPv6 and still have access to a substantial representative base of publicly available servers. For nearly every organization, the task of IPv6-enabling their public facing servers is far easier than undertaking an organization-wide adoption of IPv6. Still, the requirement for existing Internet connected organizations to add IPv6 connectivity (even to a small number of systems) will be a significant hurdle and require a level of effort which may not be achievable given the lack of compelling additional benefits to these organizations [RFC1669]. This transition plan presumes that "connectivity is its own reward" [RFC1958] and that there still exists a sufficient level of cooperation among Internet participants to make this evolution possible. The three proposed phases are: Preparation Phase, Transition Phase, and Post-Transition Phase. The timeline for the phases has been set to allow entry to the Post-Transition Phase prior to the projected IPv4 address pool exhaustion date [IPUSAGE]. 2.1 Preparation Phase - Present to December 2009 In the Preparation Phase, Service Providers pilot test their IPv6 network services, and end-sites prepare to provide Internet facing services via IPv6-based connectivity while continuing to provide Internet-facing services via IPv4 connectivity. During the Preparation Phase, the following principles apply: 2.1.1 Service Providers SHOULD offer pilot IPv6-based Internet Service to their Internet customers. IPv6-based Internet Service MAY be provided via IPv6 transition mechanisms as described in [RFC4213] or via native IPv6 network service. 2.1.2 Organizations SHOULD arrange for IPv6-based Internet connectivity for any Internet-facing servers (e.g. web, email, and domain name servers). Internet-facing IPv6 servers in this phase SHOULD use separate service names per [RFC4472] to avoid impact to production IPv4-based services unless the organization supports production IPv6 connectivity. 2.1.3 Organizations MAY provide IPv6-based Internet connectivity to internal user communities. J. Curran Expires August 1, 2008 [Page 4] Internet-Draft An Internet Transition Plan January 2008 2.2 Transition Phase - January 2010 to December 2011 In the Transition Phase, Service Providers offer production IPv6 and IPv4 services to their Internet customers. End-sites provide Internet-facing services in a production manner via IPv6-based connectivity in addition to IPv4-based connectivity. During the Transition Phase, the following principles apply: 2.2.1 Service Providers MUST offer IPv6-based Internet Service to their Internet customers. IPv6-based Internet Service SHOULD be via native IPv6 network service but MAY be via IPv6 transition mechanisms if necessary. 2.2.2 Organizations MUST arrange for IPv6-based Internet connectivity for any Internet-facing servers (e.g. web, email, and domain name servers). Internet-facing IPv6 servers SHOULD be treated as production by the organization, and SHOULD be treated as production by other Internet organizations. 2.2.3 Organizations SHOULD provide IPv6-based Internet connectivity to their internal user communities, and provide IPv6 internal supporting servers (e.g. DNS, DHCP). IPv6-based Internet connectivity MAY be via native IPv6 network service or MAY be via IPv6 transition mechanisms. 2.3 Post-Transition Phase - January 2012 to the Future In the Post-Transition Phase, End-Sites provide all Internet-facing services via IPv6-based connectivity, thus allowing for new Internet customers connected solely by IPv6. During the Post-Transition Phase, the following principles apply: 2.3.1 Service Providers MUST offer IPv6-based Internet Service to their Internet customers. IPv6-based Internet Service SHOULD be via native IPv6 network service. 2.3.2 Organizations MUST arrange for IPv6-based Internet connectivity for any Internet-facing servers (e.g. web, email, and domain name servers). Internet-facing IPv6 servers MUST be treated as production by the organization, and SHOULD be treated as production by other Internet organizations. 2.3.3 Organizations SHOULD provide IPv6-based Internet connectivity to internal user communities, and provide IPv6 internal supporting servers (e.g. DNS, DHCP) IPv6-based Internet connectivity SHOULD be via native IPv6 network service or MAY be via IPv6 transition mechanisms as described in [RFC4213]. 2.3.4 Service Providers area MAY continue to offer IPv4-based Internet connectivity to their customers. Organizations MAY continue to use IPv4-based Internet connectivity. J. Curran Expires August 1, 2008 [Page 5] Internet-Draft An Internet Transition Plan January 2008 3. Summary In order to facilitate full Internet-wide connectivity during the transition from IPv4-based connectivity to IPv6-based connectivity, a transition plan which provides clear guidance to organizations regarding expectations is necessary. As the specific expectations change over time, and vary greatly by organization, a phased approach is specified in this document, with the timeline for each phase set with the intention of allowing enough time for the necessary planning and deployment steps which each organization much undertake. This Internet Transition Plan provides for transition to predominantly IPv6-connectivity by January 2012 which, with careful management, may meet the overall requirements of allowing the Internet to scale as specified in "The Recommendation for the IP Next Generation Protocol" [RFC1752]. 4. Security Considerations This memo describes the transition of the Internet from IPv4-based connectivity to predominantly IPv6-based connectivity. This change inherently has security implications due to the widespread deployment of a new version of the Internet Protocol but these are beyond the scope of this document and are covered in [RFC4942]. This document raises no new security issues itself. 5. IANA Considerations While no new name or identifier space is created by this document, the policies for management of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address space may not provide for IPv4 availability through the Transition Phase as intended by this plan. The IANA should work with all parties to develop policies per [RFC2050] which allow continued general availability of IPv4 address resources sufficiently long for any transition plan that receives widespread community support. 6. Acknowledgments This document would not been possible without the abundant comments and suggestions made by members of the Internet community, and in particular thanks are due to Jim Bound, Scott Bradner, Randy Bush, Geoff Huston, Chris Morrow, Ken Shores, James Woodyatt, David Divins, and Jordi Palet for their review and suggestions for improvement. J. Curran Expires August 1, 2008 [Page 6] Internet-Draft An Internet Transition Plan January 2008 7. References 7.1. Normative References [RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997. [RFC4213] Nordmark, E. and R. Gilligan, "Basic Transition Mechanisms for IPv6 Hosts and Routers", RFC 4213, October 2005. [RFC4472] Durand, A., Ihren, J., and P. Savola, "Operational Considerations and Issues with IPv6 DNS", RFC 4472, April 2006. [RFC1752] Bradner, S., Mankin, A.," The Recommendation for the IP Next Generation Protocol", RFC 1752, Feburary 1995. 7.2. Informative References [RFC1958] Carpenter, B., "Architectural Principles of the Internet", RFC 1958, June 1996. [RFC1669] Curran, J., "Market Viability as a IPng Criteria", RFC 1669, August 1994. [IPUSAGE] IPv4 Address Report,February 2008, by Geoff Huston. [RFC4057] Bound, J., Ed., "IPv6 Enterprise Network Scenarios", RFC 4057, June 2005. [RFC3750] Huitema, C., Austein, R., Satapati, S., and R. van der Pol, "Unmanaged Networks IPv6 Transition Scenarios", RFC 3750, April 2004 [CAMPUS] Chown, T., "IPv6 Campus Transition Scenario Description and Analysis", (Work in Progress), March 2007. [RFC2050] Hubbard, K., Kosters, M., Conrad, D., Karrenberg, D., and J. Postel, "Internet Registry IP Allocation Guidelines", BCP 12, RFC 2050, November 1996. [RFC4942] Davies, E., "IPv6 Transition/Coexistence Security Considerations", September 2007. J. Curran Expires August 1, 2008 [Page 7] Internet-Draft An Internet Transition Plan February 2008 Appendix A. Change History Changes from -01 version to -02 version: o Clarification of pilot nature of IPv6 services prior to start of Transition Phase. o Strengthen use of native IPv6 in Post-Transition Phase. Changes from -00 version to -01 version: o Expanded discussion of phased transition model. o Extended Preparation phase by one year to reflect overwhelming community concern about the state of IPv6 readiness. o Clarified use of IPv6 services in Preparation phase to advise caution with respect to DNS interactions per RFC 4472. o Removed last sentence of Post-Transition phase from removal of IPv4-based connectivity. Removal of IPv4 is considered out of the scope of this document. o Updated Introduction to clarify use of RFC 2119 terminology despite inherently non-standards nature of this document. o Corrected misc typographic errors o Updated acknowledgments section Author's Address John Curran 99 Otis Street Cambridge, MA USA 20190 Email: jcurran@istaff.org Full Copyright Statement Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2008). This document is subject to the rights, licenses and restrictions contained in BCP 78, and except as set forth therein, the authors retain all their rights. 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