[AfrIPv6-Discuss] Finding solutions to things that stop people moving to IPv6

Thu Dec 6 03:41:29 UTC 2018

>
> Consumers are unaware of IPv6, so it's not part of their buying decision.
If something doesn't make consumer buy boxes, vendors don't do it. I do not
think consumer education about IP is a good idea.

Neither do I. Consumers don't DIRECTLY care about IP (whether v4 or v6).
But they do care about other features that may be only possible (or easier,
or cheaper) with v6.

This is one place where I see the role of governments. In the interest of
national development, just ban importation and sale of legacy equipment.
Similar to what is already done with type approval in telecommunications
today.

> ISPs buying cheap boxes and not paying anything for support, so they
can't get upgrades.
> Foreign ISPs dumping volumes of used CPE, which get resold at deep
discounts.

I've been screaming about this for years. Even worse, some of it is going
to be "sold" as "next generation Internet aid or technical corporation")
which further cripples IPv6 deployment.

>
> Something that has worked for some companies is an "ISP Certified"
sticker. CPE vendors could apply to an ISP, and pay the costs of testing.
If the tests complied with the ISP's requirements, which might include MAP,
lw4o6, or 464xlat support, the vendor is allowed to put a sticker on their
box saying, "This device certified for use with $ISP." There might be a
business opportunity for someone who can set up a really good CPE testing
lab, so ISPs could outsource their testing and certification.

In addition, I believe that with two days of training (regulators and
customs) and the appropriate infrastructure and a PROCESS, we can help a
government implement type approval for IPv6. Any regulator that wishes to
do this should reach out and join the waiting list by taking the Government
IPv6 Readiness Self Assessment at

ENGLISH → https://vox.afrinic.net/465923?lang=en
FRENCH →  https://vox.afrinic.net/465923?lang=fr

> For years I have been an IPv6 advocate – and I still am – and I’ve
actively deployed and run IPv6 in production supplying it to the end user,
with multiple percentage point changes in country IPv6 penetration
statistics as a result, but I am fast realizing that if we want IPv6 to
grow and thrive – it’s time we started being a little more open and honest
about the challenges and problems with it – instead of sprouting off that
everyone should just move to it.   Let’s acknowledge that IPv6 is critical,
we have no option, but it is also deeply flawed, has major problems, and
until start dealing with those – we will see deployment continue to stutter

I agree with the above. The solution is not just another open "discussion"
where people who have not even started any kind of deployment, or even have
a fair idea of what percentage of equipment might or might not be v6 ready
go on an on about problems they've only heard about.

>
> Should we have a round table discussion at AIS? How can we identify and
make progress on resolving issues with IPv6?
>

Perhaps we can start with a mailing list thread of SPECIFIC issues people
have encountered while attempting a deployment on this mailing list, then
build up to a webinar or discussion at AIS.

There are probably about 400million users using IPv6 today and growing,
someone somewhere has solved those problems.

> The common theme in my answers above is that more people running IPv6
provides more weight in solving problems. If everyone would take a couple
of hours to do three things, we'd have a very broad base of common
experience to draw from:
>
> 1. Write an address plan. Don't worry if it takes several revisions,
that's normal.
>
> 2. Apply to Afrinic for IPv6 addresses.
>
> 3. Announce the IPv6 addresses and route them on your backbone.

These are things that we've helped operators implement in 1 day at our
deployathons (or 6 two hour sessions during helpdesk calls). It's
surprising how many operators need help with their address planning. Which
is why not only do we teach them how to determine how much space they get,
but also how to implement them in an IPAM.  For those interested, a video
of a highly attended and rated AFRINIC webinar can be found at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFIVQ_Z9je8&t=542s

Step by step walk-through of address planning best practices and
implementation in an IPAM ---- no maths!

>
> AFRINIC's training and IPv6 Helpdesk are great resources.

The premise behind the helpdesk is this: We can find ONE operator a month
that's committed to deploying IPv6, we keep providing targeted training and
coaching to move them from one deployment milestone to another until we get
stuck with incompatible equipment or internal collaboration issues. All it
takes is about 4 hours investment per week. If you are interested, make a
request at

bit.ly/6deployEN   (english)
bit.ly/6deployFR    (french)

As we do this, we're also building an tremendous amount of intel on what
actually HOLDS IPv6 deployment back from real operators attempting to
deploy it and so far with over 45 tickets, the evidence indicates that
incompatible equipment is not in the top 5.

We're also realising that that argument from big operators about "customers
aren't asking for it" is not true. We know of large operators that within 2
months have received explicitly written requests to enable IPv6 from large
corporate customers. You don't want to see their response :(

If you want to host one of our DEPLOYATHON sessions in your country

- 5% teaching, 95% DOing
- using our Prototype → Validate → Develop → Deploy framework
- enables you hit a measurable deployment milestone within 8 hours

you can apply at:  https://vox.afrinic.net/189828?lang=en (or
https://vox.afrinic.net/189828?lang=fr in french)

And for those who are still wondering how ready or not their organisations
are, take our free Organisational IPv6 Readiness Assessment at
https://vox.afrinic.net/651525?lang=en  (or
https://vox.afrinic.net/651525?lang=fr in French)

The results might provide pointers where to start the process.

Until next time ..... be EXCELLENT

-- 

Mukom Akong T.

LinkedIn:Mukom  |  twitter: @perfexcellent

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“When you work, you are the FLUTE through whose lungs the whispering of the
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