Harford Technology Corporation. Network Management, Network Design and Implementation, Network Security in Harford County, Maryland

IPv6 Governance

In order to get an IPv6 Project
out of the gate, it is necessary
to create the correct governance
of the project.

One of the great aspects of any
project is the sponsorship. Ideally,
this will be a member of Senior
Management. This is to ensure
that any policies created by the IPv6 Project team are followed.

Lets look at two extremes to illustrate the importance of the correct levels of governance in terms of an IPv6 Project.

The first example illustrates a deliberately slow process. For instance, our fictional CIO/CxO determines that IPv6 is not really a strategic goal for the enterprise. However, it is realized that IPv6 will be real at some point, perhaps after the OMB imposed deadline on Federal Agencies.

This may be a real scenario within an Enterprise. Although this fictional CIO is taking a very slow or perhaps conservative approach, the correct governance can save a considerable amount of money. In this conservative case, the IPv6 team can dictate that ANY Information Technology (IT) acquisitions must be IPv6 Capable. These acquisitions may consist of Hardware, Operating Systems, Software, or Custom Development.

This simple set of actions can place an Enterprise in a unique position. Although, this is a conservative approach, through normal refreshment cycles, the Enterprise will eventually be ready for IPv6 without a massive cash infusion specifically for IPv6.

Another example is deliberately aggressive. In this fictional example, IPv6 is seen as a business enabler. The IPv6 team will likely be the focal point of the effort. Assuming that capital exists, the efforts will need to be sequenced at the enterprise level. This may involve implementing IPv6 at the network core and then moving to the edge sites etc. Also, the sequencing must ensure that operational stability and Enterprise Security are not compromised.

Or, your Enterprise may not be extremely conservative or extremely aggressive in the realm of IPv6. This still would require the correct governance to ensure that operational stability and Enterprise security are not compromised.