Joint initiative to promote the large-scale development of IPv6 to the development of IPv6-only

In order to accelerate the global digitization process and promote the large-scale deployment of IPv6, an IPv6-Only joint statement was initiated by Vint Cerf, Latif Ladid, Wu Hequan and Liu Dong. In this statement, the importance of IPv6-Only deployment was clarified and initiatives were issued to global enterprises and all sectors of the society in terms of increasing the integration and innovation of IPv6 technology. It aims to accelerate the practical application of IPv6-Only, strengthen the ecological construction of IPv6 industry, and call on all industry professionals and practitioners to embrace and participate in the promotion of IPv6-Only. The contribution of best practices will jointly score a new chapter in the large scale deployment of Pv6-Only. The initiative brings together global experts and organizations to form a consensus on IPv6 technical achievements and upgrade directions which is a milestone in IPv6 industry development and network technology evolution.

"Joint Statement on Promoting Large-scale Deployment of IPv6 to IPv6-Only" Officially Released

On July 30, 2020, a joint statement that aimed to accelerate the global digitalization process and promote the large-scale deployment of IPv6 was initiated by the Global IPv6 Forum organized by the China Future Internet Engineering Center, Vint Cerf (who is the father of the Internet), Wu Hequan (academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering), Latif Ladid (President of the IPv6 Forum), and Liu Dong (Director of China Future Internet Engineering Center). They issued the "Joint Initiative on Promoting the Large-scale Deployment of IPv6 to IPv6-Only Development" which was held in Guangzhou, China. It was officially released at the Global IPv6 Summit.

The statement points out that IPv6 provides nearly unlimited IP address space and broad end-to-end innovation capabilities. As a solution to Internet commercial applications and IPv4 address shortages, IPv6 has become a globally recognized consensus. Promoting the large-scale deployment of IPv6-Only is not only the foundation for building a flatter, more efficient, and more secure Internet but also a comprehensive upgrade of Internet technology and industrial ecology which will profoundly impact the future innovation and development of network information technology, industries, and applications. Technology will make an even more important contribution to the current digital economy and future prosperity. At the same time, the initiative also regards 2020 as the first year for the global large-scale accelerate deployment of IPv6-Only and calls on all industry practitioners to embrace and participate in the contribution of IPv6-Onlv best practices.

Consolidate global industry consensus and build a cyber-space with a shared future based on IPv6

It is the first time to gather domestic and foreign experts and organizations to form a consensus on IPv6 technical achievements and upgrade directions which is a milestone in the process of IPv6 industry development and network technology evolution. As a base, open inclusive, and innovative technology system, the large-scale deployment of IPv6 broadens and expands the boundaries of the Internet. It is unanimous in the industry that the future of IPv6-Only deployment will be the final direction of network infrastructure development and industrial ecological deployment. It will be the first and last major upgrade of the Internet in the next few decades. In the next step, the industry will make efforts in technical research, integrated applications, standard formulation, ecological construction, and alike, to jointly build a cyberspace of shared future based on IPv6. I will build and accelerate global infrastructure construction to promote interconnection, economic and social growth, and global development.

Accelerate the integration and application of IPv6 technology and propose to start a new journey of IPv6-Only application deployment

Nowadays, thousands of industries are facing new opportunities for digital transformation which requires the Internet to have the ability to provide more reliable services to more users on a global scale. And as the "cornerstone" of new infrastructure, IPv6 leads the trend. IPv6 embeds mobility, security, and differentiated services into the network as endogenous mechanisms. This enables a leap-frog transformation of network capabilities, becoming a solid foundation, and an important engine for the digital transformation from traditional industries to future industrial innovation and development.

With the release of the initiative, large number of enterprises and research institutions have participated in the practice of IPv6-Only. These include the Chinese Education and Research Computer Network (CERNET), Network Center and the national universities who build the world's largest IPv6-Only backbone network CERNET2. Tsinghua University and other universities as well as related enterprises cooperate to carry out the next generation Internet key technology innovation, industrialization and standardization, to promote IPv6-Only deployment and Application development in depth. The 5G SA networking achievement "5G SA +IPv6 Only" project based on IPv6-Only technology was also jointly constructed by China Telecom, Alibaba Group. China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and CFIEC. This project sets a benchmark for the commercial use of multi-scenario and multi-domain IP6-Only networks in the world and helps Internet services providers and operator networks to fully evolve from dual-stack to IPv6-Only. Amazon AWS allows users to createIPv6-Only subnets in a dual-stack environment which becomes very useful when user load needs to consume a large number of IP addresses. Internal networks of companies such as Metaverse has also been built using IPv6-Only, reducing costs and laying a solid foundation for the future development.

The release of the "Joint Initiative in Promoting Large-scale Deployment of IPv6 to the Development of IPv6-Only" specifies the importance of the results of IPv6-Only deployment. Together with all sectors of the economy and the society at large, we will unveil a new chapter of IPv6-Only large-scale deployment. Large number of organizations around the world take proactive part in formulating industry standards for IPv6-Only deployment, actively developing IPv6innovative applications, and effectively applying for IPv6 Ready support tests and international certifications. IPv6-Only development has entered the "fast lane".