In 1981, the pioneers of the Internet developed a protocol known as IPv4. Over the past three decades, it has been the most widely deployed Internet Layer protocol in the world. Unfortunately, IPv4 uses 32-bit, four-byte addresses, meaning the amount of space available on the Internet is somewhat limited. Due to the unimaginable growth of the Web, the vast majority of the more than 4.2 billion available Internet addresses are currently being used. In fact, we are expected to run out of IPv4 addresses in early 2011.

In an effort to combat this issue, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) ratified a new Internet protocol, known as IPv6, which uses 128-bits. This means that an almost inconceivable number of addresses can be created.

However, for network equipment manufacturers, Tier-1 global service providers and government agencies to be certain that their products, networks and services effectively transition to IPv6, they need to conduct extensive testing.

To help organizations and businesses accomplish this goal, Mu Dynamics, the global leader in testing next-generation network services, and the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL (News - Alert)) recently announced the availability of pre-packaged IPv6 test content. Companies that utilize these test assets can begin implementing IPv6 testing initiatives immediately.

The UNH-IOL designed test content for the Network Protection Device (NPD) testing service of the USGv6 test program using the Mu test suite. The content includes tens of thousands of automated test cases in for firewalls, application firewalls, IDS’s and IPS’s.

Included in the content are functional verification tests that ensure the compliance of IPv6 implementations, security tests to authenticate that the NPD can detect malicious content, port-scans and known attacks, as well as interoperability tests that guarantee the NPD can filter traffic.

“Almost every network equipment manufacturer, Tier-1 global service provider and government agency is struggling to deal with the challenges of the IPv6 transition to support a dual-stack environment,” said Simon Berman, vice president of products at Mu Dynamics (News - Alert). “With this new test content, customers can now jump-start their IPv6 testing, benefit from industry best practices and know that they are leveraging the expertise of UNH-IOL.”

The IPv6 test content that was created by Mu Dynamics and the UNH-IOL can be acquired through either organization. For more details on the content, please visit: http://www.mudynamics.com/index.php?id=2285

Beecher Tuttle is a Web Editor for TMCnet. 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 Beecher Tuttle