Defining IPv6 operating modes

Since IPv6 is gaining momentum, and is generally operating alongside other protocols, it has become important to define the operating modes that may exist in any IPv6 environment. This allows for consistent communication and understanding of a fundamental part of operating a production network. Most of this hard work has been done by the IETF, and 99% of those definitions as can be referenced by engineers and architects when creating designs, proposals, and documentation, can be found in one really well crafted RFC.

Developing and publishing a new IPv6 documentation prefix

One of the reasons for lack of blog post publishing is that my attention has been focused fairly heavily on working within the IETF. Toward the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the US Government published a new initiative - M-21-07, which requires the migration of all federally owned systems to IPv6-only. What does “IPv6-only” mean, you may ask. Well, that’s kinda nebulous. People define it in varying levels of extremism, I’ve chosen to define it as “a device that can operate without the use of IPv4 configured”.