IPv6 & US Govt

White House

"OMB is responsible for oversight of the government-wide transition to IPv6. OMB will assess agency progress and compliance with Memorandum 05-22 through the FEA PMO quarterly enterprise architecture review process. As required, OMB will report to Congress on the Federal government's progress with IPv6 transition. As needed, OMB will establish government-wide policy for IPv6 implementation, including consultations with General Services Administration (GSA) to implement Federal government IPv6 acquisition policy. OMB will also engage the support of an IPv6 Advisory Group throughout the transition process to inform and assist in execution of IPv6-related management and oversight activities." CIO Council IPv6 Transition Guidance Sec. 5.2.1

"On August 2, 2005, the OMB Office of E-Gov and IT issued OMB Memorandum 05-22, "Transition Planning for Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)," directing all Federal government agencies to transition their network backbones to the next generation of the Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), by June 30, 2008. The memorandum identifies several key milestones and requirements for all Federal government agencies in support of the June 30, 2008 target date. . . . The CIO Council will issue guidance to assist agencies with transition planning." White House Information Policy.

• OMB Memorandum 05-22 - Transition Planning for Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) (August 2, 2005)
  • All agency infrastructures (network backbones) must be using IPv62 and agency networks must interface with this infrastructure. Agencies will include progress reports on meeting this target date as part of their EA transition strategy.
  • To avoid unnecessary costs in the future, you should, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that all new IT procurements are IPv6 compliant.
• CIO Council IPv6 Transition Guidance
  • IPv6 Advisory Group Est Feb 2006
  • An IPv6 Advisory Group has been established and is comprised of selected subject matter experts and other Federal government resources. This group will serve as an IPv6 advisory group to OMB leadership throughout the transition, and will provide information on current market trends and transition best practices related to IPv6. The IPv6 Advisory Group consists of subject matter experts and will be expanded as needed to ensure appropriate representation of the following functions:
    • IPv4/IPv6 transition
    • Cybersecurity and personal privacy
    • Technology standards
    • Acquisition and procurement
    • IP address acquisition and management
    • Network management and testing

  The IPv6 Advisory Group is assisting OMB with execution of IPv6 oversight activities, including (but not limited to) development of IPv6 guidance, coordination and documentation of common processes and procedures related to IPv6 transition, communication with agencies, and facilitation of public forums. CIO Council IPv6 Transition Guidance Sec. 5.2.2

• IPv6 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• News
  • Joab Jackson, Is the OMB IPv6 mandate faltering , GCN (Dec. 18, 2007) (" Managers from AT&T, Global Crossing, NTT America, Qwest, and Verizon all indicate that they have few customers looking into IPv6 options beyond what is required by the OMB mandate ")

Dept Commerce

• Technical and Economic Assessment of Internet Protocol, Version 6 (IPv6) : The U. S. Department of Commerce has released the final report on the technical and economic issues related to IPv6 adoption in the United States, including the appropriate role of government, international interoperability, security in transition, and costs and benefits of IPv6 deployment. The report was developed by the IPv6 Task Force, with the involvement of the NTIA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and with the assistance of consultant RTI International (RTI.) IPv6 Final Report [ -- HTML -- Acrobat PDF -- ] Posted 2-17-2006

  This report by the Department of Commerce's IPv6 Task Force examines the technical and economic issues related to IPv6 adoption in the United States, including the appropriate role of government, international interoperability, security in transition, and costs and benefits of IPv6 deployment. In developing this report, the Task Force, with the assistance of a consultant, RTI International (RTI), has gathered information from a wide range of stakeholders through a request for comment published in January 2004, a public meeting held on IPv6 issues in July 2004, and numerous contacts with public and private-sector stakeholders.

  The public record compiled by the Task Force suggests that although IPv6 has the potential to produce significant benefits for U.S. businesses and consumers over time, the near-term benefits are less clear. Available evidence suggests, for example, that in the initial years of IPv6 deployment, network security will likely be no greater under the new protocol than is currently available in IPv4 networks. Additional evidence suggests that premature adoption of IPv6 (i.e., that which precedes adequate technical and business case planning) could result in unnecessary costs and reduced information technology (IT) security.

  . . . . .

  Potential Roles of Government

  The Task Force finds that no substantial market barriers appear to exist that would prevent industry from investing in IPv6 products and services as its needs require or as consumers demand. The Task Force, therefore, believes that aggressive government action to accelerate deployment of IPv6 by the private sector is not warranted at this time. (emphasis added) The Task Force believes that, in the near term, private sector organizations should undertake a careful analysis of their business cases for IPv6 adoption and plan for the inevitable emergence of IPv6 traffic on both internal and external networks.

  With respect to public sector information systems, the Task Force recommends that government agencies initiate near-term activities to analyze their own business cases for IPv6 and to develop appropriate security plans for the inevitable emergence of IPv6 on both internal and external networks. This need for expedited planning and analysis in federal IT systems has also been identified in a recent report by the General Accountability Office and emerging policy guidance from the Office of Management and Budget. Each of these recommendations emphasizes that careful planning, development, and evaluation should precede any agency-specific decision to deploy new IPv6 technologies in operational networks. The results of this study indicate that significant technical and economic risks can be associated with failure to adequately plan for and appropriately schedule IPv6 adoption.

  Looking longer term, the Task Force notes that the federal government will need to consider allocation of new resources and to work cooperatively with non-federal authorities and the private sector to address outstanding IPv6 research and development issues, and to expedite the development of suitable deployment, coexistence, and transition plans.

NTIA

• "To help facilitate the address space acquisition process, NTIA, within the Department of Commerce, will assist OMB in its role as the central point of coordination in advising agencies requiring guidance as they proceed with identifying their IPv6 requirements. NTIA will also facilitate and assist agencies, as necessary, as they interface with ARIN. (For information on acquiring IPv6 addresses, refer to Section 4.1.2 of this document.) NTIA will provide guidance in a manner which reinforces Federal government cyber-security policy and best practices. NTIA will also maintain representation on the IPv6 Advisory Board." - CIO Council IPv6 Transition Guidance Sec. 5.2.6.2
• NTIA Report: Technical and Economic Assessment of IPv6, July 2004 Discussion Draft

• IPv6 Forum, NTIA 7/20/2004 "comments may be submitted electronically to the following electronic mail address: IPv6@ntia.doc.gov." See notice for further procedural info.

POC:  Alfred Lee, Office of Policy Analysis and Development, at (202) 482-1880. 
Press Release
Fed Reg Notice
The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, A/R 2-3, at 30 (Feb. 2003)

NIST

• Notice : NIST has released a second draft of a proposed standards profile to support the implementation of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) by government agencies. NIST developed the "profile" to help ensure that IPv6-enabled federal information systems are interoperable, secure and able to co-exist with the current IPv4 systems. An initial draft of the NIST profile was released for comment one year ago (see "NIST Issues Draft IPv6 Technical Profile" ). The second draft of A Profile for IPv6 in the U.S. Government - Version 1.0 develops a long-term strategy for 2010 and beyond. It incorporates the feedback from meetings with industry and government groups and input including more than 500 comments. The profile recommends technical standards for common network devices, such as hosts, routers, firewalls and intrusion detection systems. It also outlines the compliance and testing programs that NIST will be establishing to ensure that IPv6-enabled federal information systems are interoperable and secure, and that they work with existing IPv4 systems. NIST is calling for comments on the draft report by Feb. 29. For more information on the profile and to contribute comments, go to www.antd.nist.gov/usgv6 .

• "As the Federal government technical standards-making body, NIST will work with OMB and the IPv6 Working Group to evaluate the need for common standards and technical guidance. NIST will work with stakeholders to ensure any standards/guidance developed is in alignment with existing industry standards and is in the best interest of the Federal government. Furthermore, NIST will provide the IPv6 Advisory Group and OMB with additional guidance as necessary and maintain representation on the IPv6 Advisory Board." - CIO Council IPv6 Transition Guidance Sec. 5.2.6.1
• NIST Issues Draft IPv6 Technical Profile, NIST 2/6/2007

Department of Defense

• U.S. Department of Defense, "Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6),
• Moonv6 Media
• GAO, Internet Protocol version 6, Federal Agencies Need to Plan for Transition and Manage Security Risks, p. 24 et seq (May 2005)
• John Stenbit, “Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)” (U.S. Department of Defense memorandum of intent June 9, 2003).
• News Transcript, Briefing on New Defense Department Internet Protocol, US Dept of Defense (June 13, 2003)
• DOD Memo for Secretaries of the Military Departments, From Dept of Defense Chief Information Officer, Subj: Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) (June 9, 2003)
  • "This memorandum provides DoD policy for Enterprise-wide deployment of IPv6. Currently, Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) represents the mandated internetworking protocol for the DoD. The achievement of net-centric operations and warfare, envisioned as the Global Information Grid (GIG) of inter-networked sensors, platforms and other Information Technology/National Security System (IT/NSS) capabilities (ref a), depends on effective implementation of IPv6 in concert with other aspects of the GIG architecture. . . . The DoD goal is to complete the transition to IPv6 for all inter and intro networking across the DoD by FY 2008."
• News
  • William Jackson, DOD IPv6 Transition Deadline Not Written in Stone, GCN (May 24, 2005) (" The transition was mandated in 2003 to help enable the department's goal of network-centric warfare. This requires more data sharing for situational awareness in the field. This, in turn, requires intelligent pulling of data rather than centralized pushing. ")
  • D.S. Onley, “Defense picks consultant for IPv6 transition,” Government Computer News, at 5 (May 24, 2004).
  • Roswell Dixon, “IPv6 in the Department of Defense,” at 9, Presentation at the North American IPv6 Task Force Summit, San Diego, CA, (June 25, 2003)

GAO

• Internet Protocol Version 6: Federal Agencies Need to Plan for Transition and Manage Security Risks, GAO 5/27/2005
  • "Transitioning to IPv6 is a pervasive and significant challenge for federal agencies that could result in significant benefits to agency services. But such benefits may not be realized if action is not taken to ensure that agencies are addressing key planning considerations or security issues. Accordingly, we are recommending, among other things, that the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) instruct the federal agencies to begin addressing key IPv6 planning considerations, and that federal agency heads take immediate actions to address the near-term security risks."

Government Services Administration

"GSA will update the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), as deemed necessary by the FAR Council, for the acquisition of IPv6-capable assets and services. The FAR will reference the acquisition requirements. GSA will also assist OMB, as necessary, with developing an acquisition strategy to support the network backbone transition. The Core.gov portal (www.core.gov) will be used as the primary Federal government site for interagency IPv6 collaboration and information sharing. GSA will initiate the IPv6 information sharing site on Core.gov, for use by the IPv6 Working Group and other individuals involved in the transition. GSA will be responsible for ensuring individuals have proper instructions for registering and using the site, and will facilitate a Core.gov training session for all agency IPv6 leads. The Core.gov team will respond to agency inquiries about the site. GSA will also ensure this site has the appropriate level of security and access control. GSA and the Core.gov team will work with the IPv6 Working Group throughout this process. Additionally, GSA will maintain representation on the IPv6 Advisory Board and provide support for cross-agency initiatives related to IPv6 throughout the transition period." - CIO Council IPv6 Transition Guidance Sec. 5.2.6.3