This month's issue of 6Sense has a range of insightful and thought-evoking articles. Tony Antoniou, the CEO of Vemotion Limited in the U.K., describes a possible killer app for v6 in pop entertainment, for live concerts, interactive entertainment, and live 24/7 news coverage, where video and related digital content are streamed over the Internet, to PCs at home or - especially - to mobile platforms such as 3G and 4G cell phones. Tony predicts a time when IP-based netcasting will enable a widespread interactive "Lean Forward" experience of televised content (especially live), presumably leaving the traditional linear "Lean Backward" TV watching to an older generation of curmudgeons. Initial tests have shown very promising revenue streams.

George Usi of the North American IPv6 Task Force describes a more serious application, a proposed pilot project for networking and connecting first responders in the Sacramento area. The capability he describes for providing video, graphics, situation assessment and medical information to ad hoc groups of military, law enforcement, hospital and other authorities in a crisis situation would not only provide a much-needed service for DHS and EMS personnel, but showcase IPv6 technology as possibly making the difference between life and death.

Juniper Networks reports on its survey of IT decision makers in federal government and private organizations, and shows that IT executives want the very features that IPv6 was developed for, but seem unaware that these capabilities are available to them via the New Internet. The need for education, it appears, is huge.

Niall Murphy, the co-author of IPv6 Network Administration, argues for making a case for IPv6 to the right people, not just the usual technical arguments from the top down, but technical and business arguments from the bottom up as well as from the top down, to enroll basic systems providers such as ISPs into jumping onto the v6 bandwagon.

I have submitted an article identifying and debunking twenty myths that have grown up around IPv6, without many people realizing how prevalent or deep-seated some of these are. As always, I welcome constructive feedback, pro and con.

Ixia has thoughtfully submitted a handy Protocol Reference Poster, and Red Herring, Info World and Possibility Productions have listed the services they offer.

We welcome our many readers to this month's issue, and thank the contributors for their time, energy and consideration.

Sincerely,

Alex Lightman
Chairman, Coalition Summit for IPv6

I believe we are seeing important trends in the space where interactive and live video (including digitally generated cinema) need to be efficiently streamed, typically using H.264 to provide a user-satisfying video service, to mobile devices (mostly phones on 2.5G and 3G) and to PCs on the Internet.

Increasingly -- for streaming live music and events, live 24-hour news services, highly interactive entertainment and security applications -- we see Lean Forward's array of interactive tools being used to generate a new "mode" or genre in the way that the younger generation uses converged access for compelling applications.

Lean Forward

I have described this as "Lean Forward video" many times, as this seems to sum up the behaviour at each extreme. What excites me about this is that demand supports the view; as soon as some "Lean Forward" is introduced into a video event, we see average revenue per user (the all important ARPU) increases dramatically.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

Overview

A required technology capability within the U.S. for Homeland Security is network communications (on a 24x7x365 basis) between multiple forces for the prevention of an attack, at the point of engagement during a 911 event, as well as the ability for those forces to be commanded at any point in time in an ad hoc manner. This requirement calls for the integration of multiple technologies, 911 communications platforms, and access to an Internet infrastructure within Homeland Security geography, and to the Office of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. The technology capability should support multiple simultaneous events engaged across the U.S. geography from a single command and control center selected by the Office of Homeland Security.

Scenario

In the occurrence of a 911 event in a U.S. city or town, the State police, firemen, hospital 911 personnel, local police, and any other required local authorities requiring computing resources in the field would be able to provide advanced triage in handling trauma situations, map emergent locations more accurately, and report status to mobile units in a more efficient manner. All of this and more can be achieved by using secured mobile computing devices that would have their own Metropolitan Network using IPv6 for voice, video, graphics, intelligence, medical, and other forms of data through multimedia communications, 24x7x365...

READ FULL DOCUMENT [PDF 350K]

After hearing over 350 presentations on IPv6 from IPv6-related events in the US (seven of them), China, Spain, Japan, and Australia, and having had over 3,000 discussions about IPv6 with over a thousand well-informed people in the IPv6 community, I have come to the conclusion that all parties, particularly the press, have done a terrible job of informing people about the bigger picture of IPv6, over the last decade, and that we need to achieve a new consensus that doesn't include so much common wisdom that is simply mythical. There are many others in a position to do this exercise better than I can, and I invite them to make a better list than mine, which follows.

1. Myth: There is no need for IPv6.
Truth: There are more needs for IPv6 than almost any one person can imagine, as was true of all major information technology advances, because the true potential of IPv6 will be realized by billions of people, places and things being connected - which will change many societies, and will be used for decades.

It is true that there is no need for IPv6 in the U.S. based on an IPv4 address shortage, and the obsessive, almost maniacal, focus on this in what little the press says about IPv6 has led to a very sterile discussion that rarely seems to go on to new, more vital topics. Of the 4.3 billion possible IPv4 addresses, between 30 and 70%, depending on whom you speak with, are still available, and there are over 1 billion stockpiled by government agencies and companies that have indicated they would be moving to IPv6, and therefore don't actually need those addresses, and could theoretically sell, trade, or donate them.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

2005 was a banner year for the Coalition Summit for IPv6. Expert speakers and in-depth technical presentations clearly underlined the value and benefits of IPv6. Based on the strong federal executive turnout and the buzz in the hallways at the conference, IPv6 must be on the minds of every one in information technology (IT), especially in federal government IT.

However, the Juniper Networks 2005 Federal IPv6 IQ Study found that not to be the case. The study of IT decision makers in both the federal government and the private sector reveals a significant education opportunity on the next-generation Internet, IPv6. While more than 80 percent of respondents require improved Internet quality of service, security, and network management - all key benefits of IPv6 - less than seven percent consider IPv6 "very important" to achieving their IT goals.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

 
Ixia created an IPv6 Protocol Reference poster that provides you with pertinent information such as:

• Packet Format - version, traffic class, flow label, payload length, hop limit, source/destination addresses, and extension headers.
• IPv6 Addressing - IPv6 address types, address format, multicast addressing scheme
• Extension Headers - Hop by Hop, Destination, Routing, Fragment, Authentication, and Encapsulating Security Payload.
• ICMpv6 - packet format, ICMPv6 types and codes.
• Standards - listing of all IPv6 relative IETF RFCs.
• Ipv6 Operation - Neighbor Discovery, Router Discovery, Stateful and Stateless Autoconfiguration, and Path MTU Discovery.

IPv6 Protocol Reference Poster

Recent news articles I've seen paint quite a confusing picture about the adoption of IPv6. On the one hand, there has been a slew of reports showing that most of the US, including the large ISPs, remains largely indifferent to IPV6 [1] [2]. Indeed, were it not that the US public sector (especially the military) has mandated the adoption of IPv6, the American IPv6 story would be very grim indeed. Even those agencies charged with its implementation do not seem to be terribly enthusiastic about it [3]. In my opinion, however, the situation is not as bad as those stories would make out.

For a start, we more or less have to expect the luke-warm reaction of the US to IPv6. It's entirely understandable, given not only various historical factors -- large amounts of readily available IPv4 space and old ARIN policies requiring paying for IPv6 space being two significant ones -- but also the twin mantras of making technical sense and making business sense.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE

Red Herring is the only weekly business technology magazine that industry thought leaders, entrepreneurs and investors read to stay ahead of the curve and to be better informed about the global marketplace.

We invite you to request 4 FREE issues and see for yourself why the Wall Street Journal called Red Herring "The Bible of High Tech."

If, after reviewing your 4 FREE issues, you decide to subscribe, your paid subscription includes:

• Full access to www.redherring.com
• Full access to Red Herring magazine online archives
• Red Herring's Top 10 Trends issue
• Red Herring's Top 100 US Companies issue
• Red Herring's Top 100 European Companies issue
• Invitations to exclusive Red Herring events

Stay connected to the pulse of the business of technology, and request your 4 FREE issues and enter your subscription for 44 more at our professional rate of only $48, at www.redherring.com/subscribe.

For over 25 years, InfoWorld Media Group has provided cutting-edge coverage and evaluation of IT products and services for technology experts in senior management. Through integrated channels including print, online, and events, InfoWorld reaches the most influential senior-level information technologists. Powered by a continued investment in an independent Test Center, InfoWorld analysts and editors provide both hands-on analysis and evaluation, as well as expert commentary on issues surrounding emerging technologies and products. Please visit us at www.InfoWorld.com.

The purpose of attending a conference is to generate a return on your investment. When you add both the time and money spent at conferences (and away from your office), they can often be one of your largest marketing expenses.

We track the best Media, Entertainment and Technology Conferences from around the world. Many of them focus on the increasing convergence issues facing these industries. We help make sure you find the right conference…so you can get in front of the right people…at the right price.

Listen to what our clients are saying…

Join our mailing list to get hot deals delivered right to your inbox. Find out more by visiting Possibility Productions today!

Publisher's Intro

Lean Forward video services: increasing convergence, demand for interactivity, exploiting IPv6
Tony Antoniou
CEO, Vemotion Limited

MetroNet6 - Homeland Security IPv6 R&D over Wireless
George Usi,
North American IPv6 Task Force

Twenty Myths and Truths About IPv6 and the US IPv6 Transition (Such As It Is)
Alex Lightman
CEO, USIPv6 Summit, Inc.

Juniper Networks Highlights the Need for IPv6 Education at the Coalition Summit for IPv6
Juniper Networks

IPv6 Protocol Reference Poster - get yours today!
IXIA

Mixed Messages
Niall Murphy
O'Reilly Author

Get 4 FREE Issues of Red Herring!

InfoWorld

Possibility Productions

Send us feedback about 6Sense articles

Reston, Virginia

December 7-9, 2005

Click here for more info.