The Office of Management and Budget has new guidance for agency adoption of Internet protocol version 6, saying that the transition will ensure that federal information technology modernization efforts continue.

According to an OMB memo released September 28, agencies should:

• Upgrade public/external facing servers and services by the end of FY 2012;
• upgrade internal client applications that communicate with public Internet servers and supporting enterprise networks by end of FY 2014;
• designate an IPv6 transition manager to lead the agency's IPv6 transition activities by October 30, 2010; and
• ensure agency procurements comply with Federal Acquisition Regulation requirements and IPv6 capabilities.

The transition to IPv6 has been on agency CIOs' radar for some time, although the issue has become fainter since the last round of OMB requirements were met on June 30, 2008.

"June 30, 2008 was a big deal," said Pete Tseronis, chairman of the IPv6 Task Force and Department of Energy associate CIO, during an IPv6 panel held in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 28. "We reached it. I think most people will say it was a check mark. I did pass traffic on a segment of my network that I'm no longer using, and I tested it, and I got credit for it, and green on a scorecard somewhere."

But, he added, "from that point on, the milestones have been very broad and very general." This new round of guidance differs from the last one in that it has very specific milestones, Tseronis said.

"The agencies have to embrace this. They can't do the, 'Let's get somebody to manage this for us,' and 'What do we need [to do] to say that we're done?' This is beyond that at this point," said Tseronis.

Tseronis said the transition plans should be viewed as an opportunity for agencies to consider their network from a big-picture perspective; although, he admitted that can be a bit daunting. Some agencies don't even have the budget for an IPv6 test lab, he said. The initiative may cause agencies to consult with and follow the lead of those with successful transitions.

The IPv6 task force will hold review sessions of agency plans November 15 through January 21, Tseronis said.

For more:
- see the memo to agencies about IPv6 transition (.pdf)
- see the previous IPv6 guidance (.doc)

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