IPv6 Integration: The Value of Knowledge
by Yurie Rich
President, Native6

Watching the IT market over the past five years has been something of a wild ride. Prior to working for an IPv6 ISP startup in 2000, my interaction with networking technology had been rather peripheral. I would have characterized myself as a power user of basic office software, but my interest in networking and the Internet was focused mainly on how to play online computer games.

Like many people that entered the IT job market during the bubble years, my technical skills weren’t nearly as important as my ability to adopt to new concepts and manage my IT FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) factor. Military service had accustomed me to a world defined by acronyms – a passion shared by the military and the IT world alike - but nothing could have prepared me for the rate of evolution that seemed to rule the networking world. It was like being launched in a vehicle that not only accelerated from 0-1000 MPH in 5 seconds flat, but also changed course at unpredictable intervals.

All of sudden I needed to understand things like DNS, the difference between an IGP and an EGP, subnetting, and something called IP. To make matters worse, I not only needed to learn about the existing version, v4, but also about this new, disruptive technology called IPv6 (and what happened to five ?). It was less like an education and more like an indoctrination process. Finally, it was not enough to merely learn these concepts, but also convince people that they needed IPv6 too.

Today, discussions about IPv6 are generally not about what it is, or when it will “be here,” but how to deploy it. The most common question we get is, “What is the best way to integrate IPv6 into my network?” The response is the infamous, “It depends,” It depends upon your integration goals. It depends on your timeline for integration. It depends upon your economic resources. It depends upon the abilities of your support staff. It depends upon too many factors for a one-size-fits-all approach. There doesn’t seem to be any universal constant for a transition to IPv6 – with the exception of one item. Knowledge.

Knowledge is the power to determine the integration path that will be the most appropriate and successful for each individual situation. Knowledge is the power to choose the products and services that will meet your near and long term IPv6-related objectives. Knowledge is the power to control the inevitable evolutionary cycle of IT, and in this particular case, IPv6. This is a fact I re-learned during my whirlwind indoctrination to IP6.

While there are numerous methods to obtain knowledge, formalized training is the path organizations most often choose. Certainly self-study, e-learning, seminars, and experimentation can yield positive results, but they are hardly a replacement for instructor led training. Instructor Led Training (ILT) generally has a much higher yield of knowledge retention and pushes participants farther up the learning curve, faster. Additionally, even greater levels of success are achieved when the materials used are of a high quality (i.e. timely, comprehensive, accurate, visually stimulating, and consistent) AND the instructor has real world experience with the subject matter.

Like many other industries, the training market is a “buyers beware” environment and consumers are encouraged to do the homework before laying down scarce training dollars. Certainly price, location, and availability will all be factors in the purchase decision process. However, value is definitely a function of more than just these items. Quality is a characteristic that should weigh heavily, if not foremost, in the decision making process.

Remember that IPv6 is a maturing protocol. Despite being standardized in 1995, its impact on networking technologies continues to evolve, with new standards being developed on an ongoing basis. Accordingly, the quality of any IPv6 training experience will be impacted by the provider’s ability to intelligently address and incorporate evolution into their offering. This is one of but many aspects that should enter the IPv6 training provider calculation. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but below are a number of criteria you should consider when making your v6 training provider choice:

Training Evaluation Factors

Experience: People invariably want to put the training content into the context of their own situation. Instructors with hands-on experience have the experience necessary to provide that kind of invaluable feedback.

Focus: The value a niche training organization delivers is a significantly greater depth of knowledge on a particular subject versus what a training generalist organization might offer.

Diversity: Although it sounds contrarian to the previous point, diversity of knowledge within a particular subject matter is often critical to a successful training experience. Rarely do students want to just know how IPv6 integration will affect their routing environment or DNS servers. Their curiosity will drift to every facet of the network environment, including applications, support systems, security, etc.

Commitment: It isn’t enough to simply focus on a particular subject matter. As mentioned before, IPv6 is constantly evolving. To stay abreast of the changes requires a commitment, by the training organization and its staff, to dedicate time and resources to continue its own learning process.

As you begin the evaluation process, I hope that you will keep these factors in mind and be sure to include Native6 (www.native6.com) in your list of possible vendors. As a long standing provider of IPv6 training and IPv6 training solutions, we believe Native6 provides the greatest v6 training value on the market. After taking one of our courses, we know you will too.