IPv6 is the future of networking. Designed to extend the useful life of the immensely popular TCP/IP stack, network managers must be ready to migrate to IPv6 support at the same time they continue to support the hundreds of millions of nodes that already use IPv4. The effort to design a replacement protocol for IPv4 continues to be a study in contradictions: As the naysayers continue to insist there is no reason to fix IPv4, the United States Department of Defense has mandated that all of their networks be prepared to migrate to full IPv6 support. As commercial ISPs and other network services providers in North America continue to deny the need for IPv6, researchers and businesses in the rest of the world are redoubling their IPv6 implementation efforts. Whether or not there is an actual shortage of IPv4 addresses doesn't matter, as the IPv4 Internet continues to be burdened by a perception of address depletion as well as the reality of core routing overload. The second edition of IPv6: Theory, Protocol, and Practice guides readers through implementation and deployment of IPv6. The Theory section takes a close, unbiased look at why so much time and effort has been expended on revising IPv4. In the Protocol section is a comprehensive review of the specifics of IPv6 and related protocols.
Finally, the Practice section provides hands-on explanations of how to roll out IPv6 support and services. This completely rewritten edition offers updated and comprehensive coverage of important topics, including router and server configuration, security, the impact of IPv6 on mobile networks, and evaluation of the impact of IPv6-enabled networks globally. Pete Loshin's famously lucid explanations benefit readers at every turn, making IPv6: Theory, Protocol, and Practice the best way for a large diverse audience to get up to speed on this ground-breaking technology. Book jacket.