[pcd2k]

Everybody seems to be prepaing to connect to the new ? 'iPv6, internet protocol version, like Microsoft, Linux, Open Systems, Solarius but no Mac OSX that I can see so far,

http://www.ipv6.org/

This implentation is being provided by 6Bone as is evident here


"The 6bone is an IPv6 testbed to assist in the evolution and deployment of IPv6, the next generation Internet network layer IP protocol often referred to as IPng (see the "Case for IPv6" ). These pages provide overview and operational information about the 6bone, and tell you how to join the 6bone . The 6bone operates under the IPv6 Testing Address Allocation of Experimental RFC 2471 , allocated by the IPv6 effort of the IETF. "

and yet at this site its apparently possible to get a quicktime plugin

http://www.ipv.com/

So where are we in the new iPv6 at the moment according to them we are currently using iPv4, although exactly what happened to iPv5 remains a mystery ?

[Goldfinger]

OSX has had support for IPv6 for over a year IIRC.

[larkost]

MacOS X is already IPv6 ready, and has been for some time. If you go into System Preferences->Network->Ethernet->TCP/IP you will see a IPv6 address (self assigned in most cases) and a "Configure IPv6" button.

Oh.. and the v6 refers to the fact that there are 6 tuples in the address (eg 1.2.3.4.5.6), not the version. v4 has 4 tuples.

[ego]

Originally posted by larkost:
Oh.. and the v6 refers to the fact that there are 6 tuples in the address (eg 1.2.3.4.5.6), not the version. v4 has 4 tuples.

Not at all. IP v6 is "v6" because the version 5 has been used for another experimental protocol. And with v6 using 128bit addresses, I fail to see how you would group them in a 6-tuple (not 6-tuple_s_). Please check your beliefs before stating them as facts.

[utidjian]

Go to http://www.apple.com and do a Search for 'IPv6'
you will get lots of info if you choose the 'Developer' sub-option.

Originally posted by pcd2k:
.....
and yet at this site its apparently possible to get a quicktime plugin

http://www.ipv.com/

I couldn't find anyhting about a Quicktime plugin on that site, let alone anything about IPv6.

So where are we in the new iPv6 at the moment according to them we are currently using iPv4, although exactly what happened to iPv5 remains a mystery ?

IPv5 was for some sort of Streaming Protocol that never really made it.
See: http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Linux+IPv6...41.html#AEN443

For more info in general (and particular) see:
http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/Linux+IPv6-HOWTO/
and
http://www.ipv6.org/v6-apps.html
for IPv6 enabled apps
and
http://freshmeat.net/search/?q=IPv6
for some apps and projects
and
http://www.netbsd.org/Documentation/network/ipv6/
for NetBSD info
and
http://www.freebsd.org/ports/ipv6.html
for FreeBSD stuff... which is where Apple will probably get most of the IPv6 infrastructure.

[entrox]

I fail to grasp how you can miss the IPv6 support in OS X. Just go to System Preferences -> Network -> any network device -> Configure.

There you have a big honking "Configure IPv6" button and an IPv6 address. Also, the first google hit for "ipv6 os x" details how to enable it on Jaguar.

[Link]

And if you have an ipv4 connection, you can get an ipv6 tunnel, too

[ginoledesma]

The only major country I've seen go IPv6 is Japan, and even then it isn't as widespread yet. I attended an IPv6 workshop sometime back, and can still remember the hassle of getting the most common services up and running: mail, web, DNS, etc. So I won't expect to see a mass migration to IPv6 anytime soon.

You'd also be surprised at the relative ease-of-use and support Mac OS X has for IPv6. In Windows 2000, you had to install a developer release of software to get it in. I fail to recall if it was XP SP1 that introduced IPv6 support or if XP itself had it already. But even with XP, you still needed to configure it using the command line (DOS). There's a separate GUI tool available, but it would've been better if MS offered one out of the box. Just goes to show that most companies aren't thinking of IPv6 as mainstream just yet.

[ego]

Originally posted by ginoledesma:
... So I won't expect to see a mass migration to IPv6 anytime soon.

From what I hear, manufacturers of networked peripherals (routers, printers, etc.) for the small-business and home office (SOHO) market are looking at Longhorn's timeframe to add IPv6 support in their products.

I don't know if it's a requirement that Microsoft is placing on them to support IPv6, or if they expect IPv6 to take off at that time (at least in some geographies, Japan in particular as you mentionned).

I'm really looking forward to the time where I'll be able to switch IPv4 off on my home network (probably with a 6-to-4 proxy on a new broadband router) and then when I'll be able to order an IPv6 broadband connection.

To be honest it's more for intellectual plaisure than for immediate benefits. Although I wouldn't mind being able to rely on IPSec for all my inter-machine traffic (even with WPA enabled on the wireless portion). Being able to drop NAT would be good.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by larkost:
Oh.. and the v6 refers to the fact that there are 6 tuples in the address (eg 1.2.3.4.5.6), not the version. v4 has 4 tuples.

I'm actually pretty surprised at this confident reply containing blatant misinformation.

[ginoledesma]

Originally posted by ego:
To be honest it's more for intellectual plaisure than for immediate benefits. Although I wouldn't mind being able to rely on IPSec for all my inter-machine traffic (even with WPA enabled on the wireless portion). Being able to drop NAT would be good.

Same here. My only reason for wanting IPv6 is to be given my own IP address and not have to deal with NAT. Then each host in IPv6 couly truly do peer-to-peer communication again (as was originally the case of the Internet).

[GCW]

Originally posted by ego:
I'm really looking forward to the time where I'll be able to switch IPv4 off on my home network (probably with a 6-to-4 proxy on a new broadband router) and then when I'll be able to order an IPv6 broadband connection.

Although there is already at least one cable provider offering v6 broadband service (via tunneling) in Europe, cable modems will begin to natively support v6 in the 2006 timeframe.

Depending on what's on your home network (and what consumer electronics devices you might add to it in the next couple of years) it's probably unlikely that you'll be able to switch off IPv4 that quickly. More likely you'll be running a dual-mode network for a while. Right now for me it's just my Tivo and my wireless router that don't (and likely won't) speak v6.

BTW - Has anyone here tried the 6to4 tunnelling that is built into OSX?How to configure 6to4 in Mac OS X I'm behind a NAT so haven't given it a try.

[RayX]

For those wondering, an IPv6 address looks like this:

3ffe:ffff:0100:f101:0210:a4ff:fee3:9566

Check out some of the URLs in this thread for more information.

[Arkham_c]

Personally, I'm in no hurry for the IPv6 upgrade. There aren't really any great tangible benefits to us as consumers, other than the return of static IP addresses. It will no longer be possible to remember your IP address with IPv6. I know I rely on knowing the IP of my router and such for troubleshooting, and losing this capability doesn't seem that enticing.

[ego]

Originally posted by GCW:
Depending on what's on your home network (and what consumer electronics devices you might add to it in the next couple of years) it's probably unlikely that you'll be able to switch off IPv4 that quickly. More likely you'll be running a dual-mode network for a while

Apart from my wireless router/broadband gateway, I currently have no network equipment that doesn't already support IPv6. That's not by chance, I avoid buying IPv4-only stuff.

I have been looking at networked printers for a while (currently using USB-attached ones). It looks like I'll wait until 2006 to make the step. Too bad for printer manufacturers but good for my wallet.

[Xeo]

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
Personally, I'm in no hurry for the IPv6 upgrade. There aren't really any great tangible benefits to us as consumers, other than the return of static IP addresses. It will no longer be possible to remember your IP address with IPv6. I know I rely on knowing the IP of my router and such for troubleshooting, and losing this capability doesn't seem that enticing.

If everyone were to get a static IP, I think those of us techie enough would be able to remember it eventually. Although I will just assign a domain name to it and use that... (it's what I do anyway)

[[APi]TheMan]

Originally posted by RayX:
For those wondering, an IPv6 address looks like this:

3ffe:ffff:0100:f101:0210:a4ff:fee3:9566

Check out some of the URLs in this thread for more information.

And the local loopback address (127.0.0.1 in IPv4) in IPv6 looks like this:

::1

[ginoledesma]

Originally posted by Xeo:
If everyone were to get a static IP, I think those of us techie enough would be able to remember it eventually. Although I will just assign a domain name to it and use that... (it's what I do anyway)

In hex? Memorizing the MAC address part is hard enough. But then again, there are always people who have "talent" for these things. On a related note, there aren't that many apps that even support IPv6 yet.

[tooki]

Luckily, at the moment, so much of the IPv6 address space will go unused that about half of every address will be contiguous zeros. In fact, I believe there's some sort of abbreviated notation for this.

tooki

[Devin Lane]

IPv6 provides such an incredibly huge volume of IP addresses (7.92281625143e+28), that each person could be give several hundred billion without a problem at all. What this means, is that ip addresses should become almost *free* because there are so impossibly many of them.

Anyway, fortunately, there are tons of ways to abbreviate ip v6 (its possible that for a while, we might use, say, the last 4 sections, which is still a ton more than ip v4)

Crap... Gotta go to school now.