Transition from IPv4 to IPv6: Best Transition Method for Large Enterprise Networks

This study focuses on identifying the best IPv4 to IPv6 transition method for large enterprise networks, specifically for XYZ company. The importance of IPv6 transitions, challenges, risks, and opportunities are discussed.

TRANSITION FROM IPv4 TO IPv6
Best Transition Method for Large Enterprise Networks
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Abstract-Internet protocols are very important
factors in network communication but the
increasing number of internet user has resulted in
the depletion of IPv4 resulting to the need to
invent new technologies to address this weakness.
Many companies and organization have been
making use of private addresses to cub this
problem but that is just for a temporary solution
because the levitation of the devices connected to
the internet will eventually exhaust IPv4
addresses. As such, there is need to employ the use
of IPv6 because it has more hosts which is
inexhaustible and comes with numerous
advantages including organized and effective
infrastructure for routing and addressing,
provides advanced address configuration in order
to reduce the complexity of host configuration,
comes with in-built security, and support better
quality of service. Several transitions method have
been invented but this does not guarantee simple
and easy transition even for the most skilled and
experienced network administrators. There exist
several types of IPv6 transition but they have been
categorized into 3 major categories Dual Stack,
Tunneling, and Translation.
Keywords-IPv4, transition methods, IPv6,
Dual Stack, Translation, Tunneling.
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the time when the internet was
introduced, the way people communicate and interact
have change significantly. The internet has been
considered a platform for sharing information, a
medium for interaction and collaboration, between
people regardless of their location. This has been
made possible because of the capabilities of the
internet. TCP/IP has played a significant role in
enhancing and expanding global communication [1].
Therefore, knowledge sharing is improved if more
users join the internet.
However, the major problem that has been
facing internet is because of the IP addresses because
the current IPv4 is getting exhausted day by day. This
will greatly affect internet service providers,
companies, enterprises and other large organization.
Because of this limitation, XYZ company, a retail
company branches across all the cities in the UK, is
considering migrating its network from IPv4 to IPv6.
This study will focus on identifying the best IPv4 to
IPv6 transition method for XYZ company.
Many reports, documents, and papers have
been written about the exhaustion of IPv4 and the
need to start adopting IPv6 and the different
strategies that network administrators implement
IPv6 to the existing network [2]. Nevertheless, few
research papers have been written concerning the
transition from IPv4 to IPv6 in large companies such
as XYZ with several outlets/branches in different

geographical locations. This document will propose
the ideal solution that will facilitate XYZ to
successfully transit from IPv4 to IPv6 network
without affecting the current business operations and
processes. The importance of IPv6 transitions will
also be discussed in addition to the challenges, risks,
and opportunities that comes with it.
II. OBJECTIVES
This section will discuss the research questions
and objectives of the survey. While conducting a
research review it is essential to define research
questions. Proper techniques will be employed to
identify expected solutions depending on the nature
of the questions. “what is the best method for
transiting from IPV4 to IPv6 in large enterprise
networks?” The main objectives for this research
include:
 To get a deeper understanding on IPv6
transition methods
 Get better insights for deploying IPv6
 Recommending the best transition method
from IPv4 to IPv6 for XYZ.
Design science method will be used because it is
a good approach from solving problem. This method
makes use of a series of guidelines whose
understanding and knowledge will help in acquiring a
solution to a design problem in building an
application of an artifact [3]. These guidelines
include designing problem domain, the relevance of
the problem, design evaluation, and research
contributions.
III. INTERNET PROTOCOL
VERSION 6 (IPV6)
For a long time, IPv4 has shown has been very useful
both in operation and implementation but it’s getting
exhausted. Additionally, it plays a critical role in the
current network both LAN and worldwide internet.
The depletion of IPv4 has been attributed to the
technology evolution and increase in internet users
[4]. Many companies and organization have been
making use of private addresses to cub this problem
but that is just for a temporary solution because the
levitation of the devices connected to the internet will
eventually exhaust IPv4 addresses. Moreover, the
increasing number of users demands that more
powerful network devices with the ability to support
large number of routing tables with over 60000
routes across the globe [5].
As a result of this problem, there arose the need to
have a solution to address this limitation and this
involves the use of internet protocol version 6
popularly known as IPv6 together with support and
protocols [6]. IPv6 just like IPv4 offers end-to-end
transmission of data across several IP networks [7].
Additionally, it supports packet switching because it
is an internet layer protocol. One major reason behind
the adoption of IPv6 is its ability to replace IPv4
without any limitations to the network.
The major reason for inventing IPv6 is because of the
shortage being experienced with IPv4 resources. As
much as IPv4 is flexible and useful, it combines the
use of 32 bits which can create up to (2^32)
addresses. This is a total of 4,294,967,296 IPv4
addresses [8]. The new IPv6 has 128 bits making a
total of (2^128) which is 2^96 times the IPv4
addresses. IPv6 addresses can accommodate a total of
340,282,366,920,938,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,0
00 IP addresses meaning that every other object in
the world can have its IP addresses [9]. IPv6 will
allow XYZ to connect its devices without having to
make use of any private IP addresses because it can
be used on the internet backbone and individual

subnets without worrying about the depletion of IP
resources [10]. Moreover, the need for mechanisms
for conserving addresses like NATs will be done
away with because it was created only to help in
alleviating the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses [11].
A. Importance of IPv6
IPv6 comes with numerous advantages
including organized and effective infrastructure for
routing and addressing [12]. The hierarchical format
that comes with and expanded range of IP addresses
are some of the most critical aspects of IPv6. IPv6
supporting 128 bits providing organized and unique
addresses globally using IP addressing caked prefixes
unlike IPv4 which contains host components,
subnets, and networks [13].
Secondly, IPv6 provides advanced address
configuration in order to reduce the complexity of
host configuration. There exist two methods of
configuring addresses:
 State address configuration where a host is
given IPv6 addresses together with
additional configuration information from
DHCPv6 server through a UDP link. Since
the DHCP server, under circumstance, does
not exist on that link, special nodes will be
used t act as relay agents to aid in
transmitting packets to other DHCPv6
servers [14].
 Stateless address configuration: this method
of configuration eliminates the need to have
additional servers or manual configuration.
It also reduces router configuration and
provides a platform for hosts to form their
own addresses called link-local addresses by
using advertised and local information from
the routers [15]. With this kind of
configuration, hosts on the same link can
communicate with one another without
having a router because they can create link-
local addresses automatically for
themselves.
Thirdly, IPv6 comes with in-built security.
Security has always been a major concern since the
introduction of the internet because of the increasing
number of cybercrime and hackers with in-depth
networking knowledge with the intention to prove
their ability to get access to different network
resources for malicious purposes [16]. For a long
time, institutions have been using firewalls, LAN
isolations, and gateways to ensure safety of private
information while being transmitted over the
network.
Figure 1: IPv6 Neighbor Discovery Protocol [17]
Some of the activities that are controlled by
ICMPv6 include address resolution for identifying
link-local address, determination of the next-hop,
prefix discovery, detection of the neighbors that are
unreachable, outer discovery for helping hosts
identify router on the local link, and detecting
duplicate addresses. The IPv6 Neighbor Discovery
Protocol performs functions that would otherwise in
IPv4 performed by ICMPv4 router discovery, address
resolution protocol (ARP), and ICMPv4 redirect
messages [16]. To facilitate communication among
nodes on a link, Neighbor Discovery Protocol uses
the following types of ICMP message:
 Router advertisement
 Router solicitation

 Neighbor advertisement
 Redirection
 Neighbor Solicitation
IV. EVALUATION IPv6 TRANSITION
METHODS
Transiting to IPv6 from IPv4 requires that
several changes to be done on the network and is not
a process that can be accomplishes in a day. In order
to have a successful transition, XYZ should be able
to plan and identify all the requirements needed.
Additionally, it is important to analyze all the
available transition methods and vote for the best
method to adopt. Several transitions method have
been invented but this does dot guarantee simple and
easy transition even for the most skilled and
experienced network administrators [18]. However,
the most challenging task is selecting the most
appropriate transition method that will guarantee
smooth and successful transition.
Figure 2: Different Transition Technologies [18]
The above diagram shows the different
transition technologies that can be adopted such as
tunneling mechanism, dual stack, and translation
techniques. There are more that fifteen transition
methods that have been tested and implemented to
ensure smooth communications and interoperability
between IPv6 and IPv4. It is essential for XYZ to
understand and have deeper insights on the current
IPv4 network in order to make the best choice of
transition method. Other factors that the company
should analyze include scalability and security
requirements.
In order to support a complete distributed
network system, the concept of ‘one size does not fit
all’ can be applied to the various transition methods.
This section will present some of the major transition
mechanisms that XYZ company can consider for
implementation and relevant details that the company
may consider to choose the best method. Every
method has individual characteristics that are very
essential in the transition process. The transition
methods have been classified into three major
categories based on necessary elements and
connectivity required for implementation.
A. Dual Stack
Dual stack occurs in the network layer
which has both IPv6 and IPv4. dual stack happens in
the network layer, which contains both IPv4 and
IPv6. A large enterprise like XYZ has several IPv4
network across the cities in UK containing many
IPv4 nodes. The company does not necessarily need
to upgrade all the nodes at the same time because the
transition methods support interoperability between
IPv6 and IPv4 nodes. As such, the company can
employ the dual stack mechanism to transit to IPv6.
This method has the ability to use IPv6 and
IPv4 for simultaneous operations enabling the
devices to operate on either protocol depending on
network and service availability and administrative

policies [19]. It is possible to attain this on both
network devices and end systems. In essence, this
method of transition involves encapsulation of IPv6
within IPv4 and DNS can be used to manage
complete transition. This has been considered the
best method of IPv6 transition because several
operating systems have employed dual IP protocol
stacks.
Figure 3: Dual Stack Model Structure [20]
Implementation of dual stack method is
done in the network layer as shown in the diagram
above for both IPv6 and IPv4. XYZ can adopt dual
stack mechanism to transit to IPv6 as the basic
strategy because it entails configuration of the
devices to enable utilization of IPv6 and IPv4
simultaneously on perimeter routers, desktop access
routers, core routers, server-farm router, and
firewalls. The figure below shows IPv4-IPv6 dual
stack operation.
Figure 4: IPv4-IPv6 dual stack operation [20]
One of the major advantages of dual stack is
that writing a network stack that supports both IPv6
and IPv4 because dual stack represents IPv4
conservative extension. Secondly, routers and hosts
can use both IPv6 and IPv4 at the same time. This
will facilitate a network operating on IPv6 addresses
to communicate with other networks running IPv4.
Dual stack is a preferred method of attack to
transit the company to IPv6 network. This is so
because most of the operating systems supports IPv6
and routers can be easily configured to use dual
stack. However, the duration and success of a
transition process depends on a number of factors
including training, IT personnel, and the required
infrastructure for deployment, development,
integration, and supporting IPv6.
B. Translation
Translation is another method that XYZ can
employ to transit to IPv6. Figure 5 below shows the
different translation techniques including application
level gateways (ALG) and NAT-PT which can be
employed to facilitate communication between IPv6-
only applications and IPV4-only applications [21].
Figure 5: Translation Method [21]
Translation method converts protocols directly from
IPv4 to IPv6 or the other way resulting too
transformation of payloads and headers of the two
protocols. Establishment of this method can be done
at protocol stack layers which is made up of
application, transport, and network layers. This
method has several mechanisms which can either be
stateful or stateless. The process of translation can be

carried out either on the network devices or end
systems.
Conversion of ICMP and IP packets is one
of the fundamental parts in the transition process in
translation mechanism. An algorithm called Stateless
IP/ICMP Translator (SIIT) is used by all the
translation methods to establish connection between
hosts that are IPv4-only and IPv6-only such as BIS or
NAT-PT. The algorithm is used to translate the
headers in the IP packet between IPv6 and IPV4
packet-by-packet. This method assumes that every
IPv6 host can be assigned IPv4 address temporarily
but does not guarantee that route packets or IPv4
addresses can be assigned to IPv6 hosts.
Translation is majorly used when an IPv6
only host needs to communicate with IPv4 only host.
This method employs a technique that translated the
IPv6 header to resemble an IPv4 header. One of the
known tools that can be used to perform this
translation is the Network Address Translation-
Protocol Translation (NAT-PT). This is the main
benefit of translation method
To carry out this task, the company router
has to be set up with NAT-PT and must know what
IPv4 addresses to translate to IPv6 address. NAT-PT
allows dynamic PAT, dynamic NAT, and static
definition which can be employed in reserving IPv4
addresses.
C. Tunneling
This is the last category IPv6 that is
employed in transmitting data between compatible
networking nodes but connected via incompatible
networks. Tunneling can be applied in two scenarios:
facilitating edge devices in a network to
communicate over incompatible networks and to
allow end systems to employ off link transition
components in a network that is distributed [22]. The
figure below shows the tunneling transition method.
Figure 6: Tunneling Transition [22]
Tunneling method in technical terms uses a
protocol to encapsulate payload among two end
systems or nodes. Encapsulation is done at the
entrance of the tunnel and decapsulation at the exit of
the tunnel. Based on the research conducted, this
method is achieved though tool-based or manual
parameter entry, applying IPv6 anycast address,
existing services such as DHCP or DNS, or by
embedding information into IP addresses [19].
Tunneling is the simplest method because it
involves point-to-point configuration. However,
tunnels can also be implemented sequentially or
hierarchically. Nevertheless, the two establishments
increase packet delay and processing requirements.
As a result, these two establishments always increase
requirements for processing and packet delay.
Currently, there are several tunneling mechanisms
such as DSTM, Teredo, ISATAP, 6over5, and 6to4
[21].
Tunneling give the users several options to
choose from and this is the main advantage.
Additionally, it is cheaper as compared to Translation
and is more convenient for bigger enterprises.

V. COMPARISON AND SUMMARY OF TRANSITION METHODS
Dual Stack Tunneling Translation
 Each device or component
on the network is
configured with both IPv6
and IPV4 addresses.
 This method is majorly
adopted by enterprises that
want to convert their
network to IPv6 slowly.
 Routing infrastructure can
be set up to support both
IPv6 and IPv4
 This method supports
configuring individual
devices as dual stack and
implement one tunneling
technology.
 Tunneling has been used
by many people but for
different reasons such as
secure socket layer o
IPSec to secure sensitive
information when being
transmitted over public or
untrusted networks.
 Tunneling give the users
several options to choose
from and this is the main
advantage. Additionally, it
is cheaper as compared to
Translation and is more
convenient for bigger
enterprises
 Tunneling is the simplest
method because it involves
point-to-point
configuration
 Tunneling can be applied
in two scenarios:
facilitating edge devices in
a network to communicate
over incompatible
networks and to allow end
systems to employ off link
transition components in a
network that is distributed
 This method is mostly
used when an IPv6 only
host needs to communicate
with IPv4 only host. This
method employs a
technique that translated
the IPv6 header to
resemble an IPv4 header.
 It uses Network Address
Translation-Protocol
Translation (NAT-PT) to
convert between IPv4 and
IPV6
 NAT-PT allows dynamic
PAT, dynamic NAT, and
static definition which can
be employed in reserving
IPv4 addresses.

VI. RECOMMENDATION OF IPV6
TRANSITTION
I recommend to XYZ to adopt the use of
dual stack transition method because it has been
testing and voted as the most reliable method that
gives ideal results. However, the company should
ensure that is ready and has prepared itself for the
transition process. This means that thorough
planning, sufficient employee training, and adequate
support is available which prepares the company to
be ready for IPV6 network transition. As time goes
by, IPv6 transition will be a must and thus, it is
important for the company to ensure that it prepares
itself to transit early enough.
VII. CONCLUSION
The depletion of IPv4 has been attributed to
the technology evolution and increase in internet
users. Many companies and organization have been
making use of private addresses to cub this problem
but that is just for a temporary solution because the
levitation of the devices connected to the internet will
eventually exhaust IPv4 addresses. IPv6 comes with
numerous advantages including organized and
effective infrastructure for routing and addressing,
provides advanced address configuration in order to
reduce the complexity of host configuration, comes
with in-built security, and support better quality of
service.
In order to have a successful transition,
companies should be able to plan and identify all the
requirements needed. Additionally, it is important to
analyze all the available transition methods and vote
for the best method to adopt. Several transitions
method have been invented but this does not
guarantee simple and easy transition even for the
most skilled and experienced network administrators.
There exist several types of IPv6 transition but they
have been categorized into 3 major categories Dual
Stack, tunneling, and Translation.

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