An Approach to IPv6 Transition in Wireless Networks

The US Department of Defense (DoD) plans to add Internet protocol (IP) version 6 (IPv6) capability to all DoD IP networks by 2008 then begin a phase-out of IP version 4 (IPv4). To facilitate this migration various transition mechanisms have been developed to address interoperability of IPv4 and IPv6 networks and systems. As transition reaches the point where IPv6 applications are widely deployed, and the network is IPv6-dominant, translation between IPv4 and IPv6 will be required for continued interoperability of IPv4-only legacy devices. An experimental prototype of a simple, low cost IPv4-IPv6 proxy translation device is currently under test and evaluation in US Army Communications-Electronics Research Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC) Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate (S&TCD) Next Generation Networks (XGN). CERDEC S&TCD XGN is conducting further research on extending the benefits of advanced services and features such as mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) and security to IPv4 legacy devices through integration of translation and MIPv6. This paper outlines the work in progress as well as exploring the deployment of these capabilities in legacy and next-generation wireless networks