IPv6 Backbone (6bone)
---------------------

Charter
Last Modified: 1998-04-07

Current Status: Concluded Working Group

Chair(s):
    Bob Fink  <[email protected]>

Operations and Management Area Director(s):
    Randy Bush  <[email protected]>
    Bert Wijnen  <[email protected]>

Operations and Management Area Advisor:
    Bert Wijnen  <[email protected]>

Mailing Lists:
    General Discussion:[email protected]
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    Archive:

Description of Working Group:

The 6bone is an independent outgrowth of the IETF IPng project that
resulted in the creation of the IPv6 protocols intended eventually
to replace the current Internet network layer protocols known as IPv4.
The 6bone is currently an informal collaborative project covering
North America, Europe, and Japan.

One essential part in the IPv4 to IPv6 transition is the development
of an Internet-wide IPv6 backbone infrastructure that can transport
IPv6 packets. As with the existing IPv4 Internet backbone, the IPv6
backbone infrastructure will be composed of many Internet Service
Providers (ISPs) and user networks linked together to provide the
world-wide Internet.

Until the IPv6 protocols are widely implemented and fully tested
for interoperability, production ISP and user network routers will
not readily place production Internet (IPv4) routers at risk. Thus a
way is needed to provide Internet-wide IPv6 transport in an organized
and orderly way for early testing and early use.

The 6bone is a virtual network layered on top of portions of the
physical IPv4-based Internet to support routing of IPv6 packets, as
that function has not yet been integrated into many production routers.
The network is composed of islands that can directly support IPv6
packets, linked by virtual point-to-point links called "tunnels". The
tunnel endpoints are typically workstation-class machines having
operating system support for Ipv6.

Over time, as confidence builds to allow production routers to carry
native IPv6 packets, it is expected that the 6bone would disappear by
agreement of all parties. It would be replaced in a transparent way by
production ISP and user network IPv6 Internet-wide transport.

The 6bone is thus focused on providing the early policy and procedures
necessary to provide IPv6 transport in a reasonable fashion so testing
and experience can be carried out. It would not attempt to provide new
network interconnect architectures, procedures and policies that are
clearly the purview of ISP and user network operators. In fact, it is
the desire to include as many ISP and user network operators in the
6bone process as possible to guarantee a seamless transition to IPv6.

Goals and Milestones:


Internet-Drafts:

 No Current Internet-Drafts.

Request For Comments:

 None to date.