June 8th, Judgement Day

It's acronym time again. From IPv4 2 IPv6... This shift is a serious one though! Internet Protocal version 4 is going to be replaced by Internet Protocol version 6. .... ..... What does this mean? 


Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a version of the Internet Protocol (IP) that is designed to succeed Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). The Internet operates by transferring data in small packets that are independently routed across networks as specified by an international communications protocol known as the Internet Protocol. 


Each data packet contains two numeric addresses that are the packet's origin and destination devices. Since 1981, IPv4 has been the publicly used version of the Internet Protocol, and it is currently the foundation for most Internet communications. The growth of the Internet has mandated a need for more addresses than is possible with IPv4. IPv6 allows for vastly more addresses.


Judgement day
On June 8th, 2011 -- World IPv6 Day (http://worldipv6day.org/) -- major web companies, including Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, and Microsoft, will enable IPv6 on many of their websites for 24 hours to test how IPv6 performs in the real world.  That day, we’ll be using IPv6 (http://worldipv6day.org/faq/index.html) for Google Apps, including Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs and Google Sites.

World Wide Test
More than 99.9% of people shouldn’t have any problems during this industry-wide test, but your experience on June 8th will depend on your computer and network configuration.
- If you only have IPv4, you’ll simply use IPv4 as usual and not see any test-related problems.
- If your configuration is ready for IPv6, you’ll automatically use IPv6 and not see any test-related problems.
- In rare cases if you have IPv6 enabled but not configured properly, you may have connectivity issues with Google Apps and other test sites on June 8th.

Check before you...
If you’d like to start checking your organization’s IPv6 preparedness before June 8th, you can instruct your users to visit ipv6test.google.com from the devices where they access Google Apps, like primary work machines, tablet devices and home computers.  If you discover IPv6 connectivity problems, you can find troubleshooting tips and more information here: http://www.google.com/support/websearch/bin/answer.py?hl=en&topic=8995&answer=1299266


Inquiries hereIf you are having a major issue related to this from now until the end of June 8th, 2011 and need to contact us about IPv6, please submit your inquiry here: https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGx2UnV1RTdEY25HSlJ4VGQ2QW9jM2c6MQ.  


Cool
Kinda cool, this shift from 4 to 6. It gives me the impression to be a part of something big. Something global. It's this kind of gloabl development that triggers my imagination. The 'what ifs', so to speak... Anyway, let's see what happens. I'm convinced my organisation is prepared for IPv6. Or is it?


It is!