FUDBusters: IPv6 Adoption in the U.S.

FUDBust: Although the United States has lagged behind Europe and Asia in the race to retrofit the Internet's core technology, this year's N+I show proved that U.S. vendors are committed to more than mere "IPv6 awareness."

A walk down any aisle at the show revealed full IPv6 routing as a key feature in many products, including Foundry Networks' 10-Gigabit Ethernet BigIron MG8 and Greenfield Networks' metropolitan-area edge GH6000 device. And for those vendors not yet able to grind out their own IPv6 chipsets, Xelerated rolled out an MPLS/VPLS/IPv6-savvy chipset capable of translating IPv6 to IPv4. This chipset will be built into the entire Broadcom StrataXGS switch line.

Yet, like ATM before it, IPv6 will require more than a few ingenious chip manufacturers and aggressive service providers to become the norm in North America. The technology also needs more grassroots projects, such as Moonv6, and government involvement beyond simple study groups. If it worked for the Internet once, it can work for IPv6 again.