OMB seeks comments on IPv6 adoption
Connecting state and local government leaders
The agency is seeking comments from federal CIO on the draft document that lays out a roadmap for the adoption of IPv6 across government agencies.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking comments from federal chief information officers on the draft document that lays out a roadmap for the adoption of IPv6 across government agencies.
“The Business Case and Roadmap for Completing IPv6 Adoption in U.S. Government” was recently published by the IPv6 Working Group of the Federal CIO Council.
This document is intended for CIOs, chief architects, and other people in federal agencies who are responsible for exploiting information technology (IT) assets to assist in achieving the mission and objectives of the agency.
Federal IT managers are encouraged to provide feedback using a comment template by close of business Monday, Jan. 19, 2009, said Kshemendra Paul, chief architect with OMB’s Office of E-Government and Information Technology, in a memorandum issued Dec. 24.
They should submit their comments to the FEA mailbox at fea@omb.eop.gov. OMB will compile and forward the comments to support the finalization of the document, Kshemendra said.
IPv6, the next generation of the Internet protocols, provides valuable benefits to agencies by facilitating an improvement in operational efficiencies and citizen services, the document states.
Some of the benefits include increased bandwidth that will allow global connectivity to many more electronic devices, improved security and auto-configuration, support for mobile devices and the use of peer-to-peer communication tools for better interagency collaboration.
Federal agencies were required by June 30, 2008 to demonstrate that their network backbones were IPv6-enabled. OMB reported that all major agencies met the deadline. OMB also encouraged agencies to move forward with IPv6 integration as part of their enterprise architecture planning. With IPv6-enabled backbone networks, agencies could begin the process of planning for phased integration of applications and users in a dual-stack environment – IPv4 and IPv6 co-existing in the same network.
Also, the National Institute of Standards and Technology has developed a technical standards profile for US government acquisition of IPv6 hosts and routers and a specification for network protection devices.
The next phase requires the deployment of secure, end-to-end, IPv6-enabled network services which support federal agency core missions and applications, federal officials said.
For questions related to the IPv6 Business Case and Roadmap, contact Peter Tseronis or Ralph Liguori, IPv6 Working Group co-chairs. Tseronis can be reached at 301-903-8262 or by email at Peter.Tseronis@hq.doe.gov. Liguori can be reached at 732-427-6888 or by e-mail at ralph.liguori@disa.mil.