Linux Foundation Workgroup Tackles Federal Mandate for Next-Generation Internet Protocol

Linux Foundation Workgroup Tackles Federal Mandate for Next-Generation Internet Protocol

Collaborative effort helps Linux “distros” obtain IPv6 certification

SAN FRANCISCO – November 24, 2008 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that its IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) Workgroup has enabled the major Linux “distros” to meet the U.S. Federal Government’s Department of Defense (DOD) mandate and certification requirements for this next generation Internet protocol.

IPv6 is the next-generation Internet protocol designed to replace the current version, IPv4, which has been used for nearly 20 years. Due to the explosive growth of the Internet, it is expected that IPv4 addresses will be exhausted within just a few short years, resulting in an urgency for IPv6 compliance.

To accelerate IPv6 migration, the U.S. Federal Government put into place a mandate for all of its agencies to meet the next-generation Internet protocol requirements for any computing and networking equipment they acquire.

The Linux Foundation, with leadership from Venkata Jagana, Senior Technical Staff Member and Chief Architect of Networking within IBM’s Linux Technology Center, formed a Linux IPv6 Workgroup to collaboratively address this major undertaking and enable Linux-based machines to be next-generation Internet ready out of the box. Other active workgroup participants included HP, Nokia-Siemens, Novell and Red Hat.

“In early 2000, IBM recognized the need for Linux to be both IPv6 compliant and interoperable and started making development contributions by working with the Linux community and distros,” said Kathy Bennett of IBM’s Linux Technology Center. “Today, that effort, along with Linux Foundation’s IPv6 WG efforts, have benefited the Linux industry in achieving the Department of Defense IPv6 certification at a level which is leading in the industry.”

“The IPv6 mandate and ensuing requirements are such major undertakings that it makes it difficult for any one company to deal with it all on its own,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. “This is exactly the kind of work and collaboration that the Linux Foundation can facilitate, and which results in real technology advancements for the Linux operating system.”

The Linux Foundation IPv6 Workgroup reviewed the mandate requirements and performed a detailed IPv6 gap analysis to identify where Linux needed to be adapted. As a result, existing Linux features, such as ICMPv6, DHCPv6, MIB support and IPSec for IPv6, are now updated to conform to the Department of Defense requirements.

For more information on the Linux Foundation’s IPv6 Workgroup and its analysis, please visit the IPv6 Workgroup website.

About the Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2007, the Linux Foundation sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading Linux and open source companies and developers from around the world. The Linux Foundation promotes, protects and standardizes Linux by providing unified resources and services needed for open source to successfully compete with closed platforms.

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