Currently, two versions of the Internet Protocol are in use, IPv4 and IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 4 and 6) as addressing system of the Internet. IPv4 was designed to support up to 4.3 billion (4.3 * 109) Internet hosts. However, the exponential growth of the Internet has led to IPv4 address exhaustion. The Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) pool of unallocated IPv4 Internet addresses got completely emptied on 3 Feb 2011 and the Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) unallocated IPv4 address pool exhaustion date is predicted a month or two on either side of 1 July 2011. It is a matter of time before the RIRs and ISPs may start denying requests for IPv4 addresses. The successor Internet addressing scheme IPv6, developed in the mid 1990s, is being deployed actively worldwide.

In 1998, the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) defined IPv6 as the Next Generation of Internet Protocols to supplement and eventually replace the IPv4 protocols. IPv6 was not introduced as a direct replacement for IPv4, rather the two address protocols are expected to co-exist for a significant period. Deployment of IPv6 began in 1999. Its address space is 128 bits, making possible 2128 = 3.4 * 1038 unique addresses.

Key IPv6 features include: Expanded addressing to improve scalability, hierarchical routing facilitating route aggregation, enhanced performance and extensibility through more efficient routing made possible through simplified and extension headers respectively, QoS support for Multimedia services, built-in and mandatory authentication and encryption for better security, auto-configuration of IP enabled devices for plug-and-play and mobility through Mobile IPv6 support that eliminates the complexity of triangular routing of Mobile IPv4.

The global transition from IPv4 to IPv6 has already started, and is paving the way for the adoption of the next generation Internet. All leading countries in the field of Internet technology including Japan, US, India and China have started implementing IPv6 on their research and commercial networks.

Recognizing the growth and opportunistic importance of the transition from IPv4 to IPv6, many governments have developed National Strategies to address and support it politically and financially. A measure of this interest is reflected in the number of allocated IPv6 addresses by the various RIRs.

Malaysia to gain a significant position in the global ICT field and to bridge the technological gap between itself and developed nations has made elaborate measures in the adoption of IPv6. Gearing towards this effort and to make a niche in the global arena on IPv6 expertise, Malaysia has identified IPv6 as one of the important item on its nation’s ICT development agenda. More detailed information on the IPv6 agenda of Malaysia can be found in the “National Strategic IPv6 Roadmap�document available at, http://nav6.org/control.php . This document that defines the IPv6 transition timelines, recommendations, guidelines as well as the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in the adoption of IPv6 in Malaysia was developed by NAv6 on appointment of the Government of Malaysia.

As IPv6 can bring in tangible or intangible benefits in terms of increased economy, a knowledgeable society and other incentives to the country, it is important that more IPv6 engineers, programmers & experts are produced locally. In facilitating the above, NAv6 with its renowned expertise locally and globally on IPv6, offers excellent opportunities for research and development in IPv6 through its PhD, Masters and Professional Certification programs to build expert human capacity and knowledge in IPv6.

The Figure below shows the framework for core research and development on Next Generation of Internet and IPv6. This framework identifies only the broad areas that are currently being concentrated in terms of research. Based on mutual interest, more specific research areas can be identified in the broader scope of Next Generation of Internet and IPv6.