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MCI Brings World's Largest Next-Generation Internet Test Bed OnlineDURHAM, N.H. and ASHBURN, Va., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- MCI is collaborating with the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) to connect the North American IPv6 Task Force's Moonv6 next-generation Internet network to the commercial Internet backbone, allowing nationwide direct connection to the test bed. IPv6 is Internet Protocol Version 6 which is designed to replace the current Internet protocol called Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4). Known as the next generation Internet protocol, IPv6 is expected to solve some of the IPv4 limitations including the number of available addresses. IPv6 also is expected to add several improvements including network routing and network auto-configuration. IPv6 will gradually replace IPv4, with the two protocols co-existing for a number of years during the transition. "MCI's link to Moonv6 as a provider is a significant milestone for the Moonv6 project and will help the NAv6TF attract additional commercial enterprise sites to participate in the Moonv6 evolution as one of the world's largest native IPv6 networks in existence today," said Jim Bound, Chair NAv6TF, CTO, IPv6 Forum. Tom Bechly, director of MCI MAE engineering, said, "As a global IP leader, MCI is pleased to be able to make an important contribution to the advancement of IPv6 testing. The ability to establish native IPv6 connectivity in addition to tunneling should help facilitate testing and enable test participants to better assess how IPv6 equipment performs in real-world deployments." Moonv6 represents the most aggressive multi-vendor test and demonstration of products being developed for the next-generation Internet protocol. The latest round of Moonv6 testing included interoperability in pure IPv6 as well as mixed v6 and IPv4 networks, wireless LANs, voice over IP (VoIP), firewalls, IPsec (IP Security), dual-stack routing, Internet protocols such as DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), DNS and various applications and transition mechanisms. "IPv6 is clearly gaining traction with North American service providers," said Ben Schultz, IPv6 managing engineer at the UNH-IOL. "Input from leaders like MCI helps us to raise our network-level testing far beyond a mere academic exercise or public demonstration of the protocol and to test products against a more complex network topology closely matched to real-world carrier infrastructures." About Moonv6 The Moonv6 project is a global effort led by the North American IPv6 Task Force that includes industry leaders, the UNH-IOL, Internet2, the Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC) and other government agencies, the Defense Research & Engineering Network (DREN) and the High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP). Taking place across the U.S. at multiple locations, the Moonv6 network is the largest permanently deployed multi-vendor IPv6 test network in the world. For more information, visit the organization's Web site at http://www.nav6tf.org/. About MCI MCI, Inc. is a leading global communications provider, delivering innovative, cost-effective, advanced communications connectivity to businesses, governments and consumers. With the industry's most expansive global IP backbone, based on the number of company-owned points of presence, and wholly-owned data networks, MCI develops the converged communications products and services that are the foundation for commerce and communications in today's market. For more information, go to http://www.mci.com/. About the University of New Hampshire's InterOperability Laboratory Established in 1988, the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) is a non-profit organization that offers comprehensive interoperability and conformance-based testing through 19 technology-based groups, called consortiums. Test solutions created at the UNH-IOL offer a set of methods to increase interoperability through protocol operations, signaling, point-to-point and multi-system scenarios. For more information, visit the UNH-IOL website at http://www.iol.unh.edu/. MCI, Inc.; University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory CONTACT: Linda Laughlin of MCI, 1-800-644-NEWS (6397); or Chris Volpe ofUNH-IOL Communications, +1-603-862-4349, [email protected] Web site: http://www.mci.com/http://www.iol.unh.edu/http://www.nav6tf.org/ |