With the Internet running low on available IPv4 addresses, the inevitable transition to IPv6 is already well underway. The difficulty with this mass migration lies in the fact that IPv4 and IPv6 aren't fully compatible with each other, and the former is bound to stick around for some time.

The answer to this predicament is often an IP media server, which can allow for interoperability support between IPv4 and IPv6, among other functionalities .

"Much like the TDM-to-IP modernization of networks, which is expected to take years to complete, transitions like IPv4 to IPv6 will result in mixed-mode networks for a long time to come, and will require solutions that bridge disparate technologies and address schemes to help customers migrate at their desired pace," said Joe McGarvey, principal analyst for IP services infrastructure at Current Analysis.

Massachusetts-based Sonus Networks (News - Alert) is one of the many technology companies that are taking this transition quite seriously. The IP network solutions provider made headlines earlier this month by announcing the general availability of a software upgrade that will help its customers with the migration from IPv4 to IPv6.

The software upgrade is part of Sonus Networks' overall strategy to support IPv6 across its entire product line. In fact, the company has already incorporated native IPv4 and IPv6 support into its second-generation NBS (News - Alert) session border controller, NBS9000 Network Border Switch, GSX9000 Softswitch and PSX Centralized Routing and Policy Server.

Sonus Networks' entire portfolio now supports both IP versions on the same hardware interfaces. The "bilingual" dual-stack nature of the company's products enables them to operate in networks that use IPv4, IPv6 or both.

Sonus said that its rationale in offering support for both IPv4 to IPv6 was to make certain that customers could migrate to the next-generation version of Internet Protocol on their own schedule, without having to suspend existing services or purchase additional hardware.

"Organizations of all kinds will have to conduct operations in a mix of IPv4 and IPv6 for some time," David Tipping, vice president of marketing and product management at Sonus Networks, noted in a statement. "Our customers can bridge from one type of network to another, one technology to the next, at their own pace and without incurring re-configuration costs."

Although announced in June, the Sonus software release was made available to customers at the end of April.

Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein