Originally, ARPANET ran the Network Control Program (NCP). The NCP
had many limitations (including address space) and was in time superseded
by TCP/IP. However, users were reluctant to make the transition. So, in
1982, Vinton Cerf and Jon Postel brutally forced users to switch from NCP
to IPv4 by programming the Internet gateways to block all NCP traffic.
Now, almost 30 years later, it is the IPv4 address space that is
approaching exhaustion. If current IPv4 address allocation policy
continues, then IANA will allocate its last remaining /8 block in 2011-06,
and the RIRs will allocate the last of their IPv4 addresses in 2012-04. Yet
the demand for addresses will only grow due to the rapid proliferation of
hand-held devices and the ongoing roll-out of Internet services in the
third-world.
IPv6 is a complete rewrite that offers a vast address space, new
services, and solutions to old problems. Yet, as with the change from NCP
to TCP/IP, adoption has been slow due to inadequate transition planning and
lack of incentives to change---until recently. While it is unlikely that
someone like a Cerf or Postel will pull the plug, the ongoing demand for
addresses means increasing pressure to change.

Are you behind the curve?
Need to see the technology demonstrated?
Want to try it out on your laptop?
Surrounded by IPv4 equipment and need a way out?
Interested in certification?

LUG members and members of the general public are encouraged to
attend the IPv6 Install-Fest.
Objectives: The IPv6 Install-Fest is designed to:
1) demystify the IPv6 transition,
2) help attendees achieve connectivity, and
3) recommend steps towards certification.
Environment: The presenter will provide:
1) a Linux 2.6 box to serve as an IPv6 router,
2) an 8-port, level 2, unmanaged switch, and
3) a number of CAT5 Ethernet cables.
Attendees: Please bring:
1) your laptop running Linux 2.6,
2) a CAT5 Ethernet cable, or
3) (optionally) a wireless access point.