DOI Advancing on IPv6 Readiness
by John McEachron
Consultant, US Department of the Interior, Office of the Chief Information Officer

The Department of Interior (DOI) expects the enterprise wide area network to be IPv6 capable in advance of the OMB June 2008 deadline. DOI Office of the CIO (OCIO) staff members have a keen interest in transitioning to IPv6. An expanded addressing capability is only one of the many benefits of an IPv6 implementation. Having a secure network is a top priority for DOI and IPv6 definitely enhances network security.

In addition, IPv6 will expand the capabilities of existing applications and be an enabler for many new applications. As an example, many of the bureaus have applications that rely on sensor data. US Geological Survey (USGS) is one of the eight bureaus and is engaged in a wide variety of activities. As a scientific organization, USGS monitors volcanoes, earthquakes and stream flow activities. USGS gathers data from sensors deployed across the country and around the world. After analysis of the data collected, alerts can be sent to IPv6 enabled devices across the globe.

OMB memo, M-05-022, signed by Karen Evans and issued by the Office of E-Government and Information Technology in August has accelerated the schedule for DOI. The first step in the transition is to assess the current situation. DOI initiated an inventory in September and has already received quality input from most of its eight bureaus. A preliminary analysis of the data indicates that DOI is close to being IPv6 capable in the wide area network (WAN).

While DOI does not underestimate the complexity of the task ahead, some things are working in DOI's favor. DOI is near the end of the first phase of an extensive consolidation effort called the Enterprise Services Network (ESN). In the first phase of the ESN project, DOI has established five common Internet gateways across all the bureaus, established a common intranet and expanded the scope of its Network Operations Security Center to encompass all bureaus. Most of the network devices in the ESN are already IPv6 capable. The long pole in the tent may be the security devices. Vendors for the security devices in the ESN have lagged behind the vendors for the routers and firewalls, but those vendors have indicated that they can be IPv6 capable within the next six to nine months.

The IPv6 transition plan consists of three phases:

1. Establish a dual-stack environment in the ESN.
2. Extend IPv6 capability into the ESN bureau connectors.
3. Extend IPv6 capability into the bureaus’ edge sites.

Once DOI builds the infrastructure to support IPv6 in a dual-stack environment, the bureaus can run their applications across the network. This is not going to be an overnight change. Some legacy applications are expected to be around for years to come. Over time, those applications will be upgraded or replaced with more capable applications running over IPv6.

The DOI OCIO is energized and believes the IPv6 transition efforts present opportunities for Federal Government agencies to collaborate to get the job done. There is no sense in reinventing the wheel. Recognizing that the Department of Defense has taken the lead on the IPv6 effort in the U.S., DOI has been talking to representatives from Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to gain the benefit of their experience and lessons learned. DOI would like to see this type of cooperation amongst all defense and civilian agencies.

John McEachron is a contractor on staff at the DOI OCIO. He has been working on the ESN project and is now the lead engineer supporting the IPv6 transition effort.