Agencies 'Don't Get It' on IPv6 Transition

Some federal agencies have laid good groundwork for the move to the next generation of Internet protocols, but others aren't nearly as far along, according to a report from Government Computer News.

"I really don't think they get it yet," at some agencies, said Peter Tseronis, chairman of the Federal CIO Council's IPv6 task force, according to the report.

IPv6 is the long-anticipated upgrade to the way information is sent across the Internet. Currently, the most widely used communications protocol is IPv4. With IPv6, agencies will have more Internet addresses, better security and increased automation.

By the end of fiscal 2012, agencies are required by the Office of Management and Budget to enable the new protocols on public-facing servers and services. They will then have two years to upgrade internal client applications to operationally use native IPv6, according to GCN.

"They have a clear mandate to meet by 2012," Tseronis said during a meeting of the Association for Federal Information Resource Management, GCN reported. "The onus is on the agencies, the carriers and the service providers to make it happen."

According to the report, the council will brief the White House next month on the readiness of agencies to begin the transition.