Wednesday 28th January 2009. Today, in Dublin Castle, more then 150 delegates attended the Irish IPv6 Task Force’s summit to highlight the threats to Ireland’s future Internet infrastructure and the critical need for a more secure, future-proof network.

Led by Waterford Institute of Technology’s ground-breaking Telecommunications Software & Systems Group (TSSG), this day-long event aims to inform the public and private sector of some major issues facing the world in terms of technology infrastructure.

Mícheál Ó Foghlú, Chair Irish IPv6 Task Force and Executive Director Research at TSSG said, “while the Internet has been a huge success story underpinning much of the world’s ICT infrastructure, the system is now creaking under pressure and overcapacity; ‘peak IPv4’ is a major threat.”

“Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of rules that allows computers to communicate.  Within the next three years the current system, known as IPv4, will have run out of unique identification points or addresses for users.  By the end of 2011, people wanting new public IPv4 addresses who wish to offer services on the Internet (such as deploying a new secure web server for e-commerce) will find this very difficult, or extremely expensive. To thrive the Internet needs to grow, to grow it needs new addresses.

“Without this change, there could well be a scenario where these addresses become a black market commodity with exponential growth in their values, perhaps costing up to €100 per month (when it costs of the order of €10 per month at present). Now is the time for all those with an interest in the continued growth and development of the Internet to update their infrastructure and prepare to migrate to IPv6.  This will enable the Internet to continue growing and meeting the needs of new users and devices looking for desktop, laptop and phone connections in countries all around the world including China where millions of people will be ready to come online.

“This is a similar issue to the Y2K problem.  If this issue is managed properly, it will not have a major impact on users but if dealt with incorrectly, it could cause a major blockage in the development of the Internet could impact everyone. It needs to be managed immediately, which is a difficult task in a time when people are so focused on their next quarter’s results,” he said.

IPv6 deployment will allow the Internet to be used in new and exciting ways.  It will also provide improved security, routing and mobility for devices. 

“Not only is it essential for new Internet-based multimedia services and applications but it is also more energy efficient as the IPv6 system does not need to connections alive and so consumes less power. The Irish government has shown great leadership by ensuring that public sector ICT spending prioritise the purchase of equipment that can run both the new and old system,” he said.

The Summit is supported by TSSG in Waterford Institute of Technology, the Internet Society (ISOC), IE Domain Registry (IEDR), Hutchinson 3G Ireland, HEAnet: Ireland's National Education and Research Network, the Irish Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Irish National IPv6 Centre.  TSSG has been involved with IPv6 since the mid-1990s and was instrumental in setting up the Irish IPv6 Task Force in 2004.

Minister of Communications Eamon Ryan opened the conference and speakers included Fred Baker (Cisco Fellow and Chair of the IETF IPv6 Operations Group) and Detlef Eckert (Advisor to DG-INFSO, EU Commission). Mr Ó Foghlú chaired the event.

Attendees at the event included those responsible for communications policy in the public and private sectors, managers and technical staff, academics and telecommunications operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

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