Transcription
IPv6 Migration Planning withMen & Mice Suite
Men & MiceHlidasmari 15IS-201 KopavogurIcelandTel: (US) 1 408 516 9582 / (Int'l) 354 412 1500Fax: (US) 1 408 273 6079 / (Int'l) 354 412 1505Company nandmice.com 2012 Men & Mice All rights reserved.This whitepaper is for informational purposes only. Men & Mice does not make anywarranty of any kind, either express or implied, in this document.All Men & Mice product names and service names are trademarks of Men & Mice. All othercompany and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respectiveowners.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite2
Introduction . 4Knowing the Network . 4Preparing for IPv6 . 5Divide and Conquer . 6Propagating the Results . 7Migrating Networks . 8Men & Mice Suite . 10Resources . 12IPv6 Literature . 12Contact Men & Mice . 13IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite3
IntroductionIn 2008, approximately 150 million IPv4 addresses were assigned: only 13% of the IPv4 address spaceglobally remains free and available. The Internet is running out of IPv4 addresses, and while IPv6adoption continued slow and steady growth in 2008, still only 4% of the Internet supports IPv6.IPv6 adoption has been slow in the corporate world, despite the benefits of the new IP protocol.Migration from IPv4 to IPv6 does not mean replacing IPv4 with IPv6 but, instead, enabling IPv6 inaddition to IPv4. This allows network-administrators to start benefiting from this new protocol.One of the challenges involved for the network administrator in migrating to IPv6 is quantifying theeffort and costs of an IPv6 migration, as well as planning how to approach the task. Migration over toIPv6 is not simple, and requires a solid and transparent process. However, with proper IP AddressManagement (IPAM) tools, and information on the existing IPv4 infrastructure, the effort becomesmanageable.This whitepaper shows how the Men & Mice Suite IPAM Module can be used to achieve a betterunderstanding of the work involved for an IPv6 migration, making the process more transparent fornetwork managers and providing a tool to aid in the transition process.Knowing the NetworkIn order to start the planning process, network managers need to know the number and types ofdevices in their networks. They need to know the number of IPv4 addresses in use, as well as whichdevices are and are not IPv6 compatible. In many organizations, this information is kept in separatedata formats in different applications (spreadsheets, databases, inventory management systems). As aresult, these disparate systems are not sufficient to give the network administrators an overview of the’IPv6 readiness’ of their network.The Men & Mice Suite is a proven IP Address Management System that supports both IPv4 and IPv6networks. In addition to the network topology and the individual IP Addresses, any amount ofmetadata (called Properties or Custom Fields) can be stored along with networks and IP Addresses.Property fields can be linked with external data sources (like databases or inventory systems) tomerge important data into one unified view of the network.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite4
Preparing for IPv6The Men & Mice IPAM Module is used to obtain an overview of the existing IPv4 network. TheSystem automatically shows all IP addresses it can find in DNS zones (A and AAAA records) andDHCP scopes. Statically managed IP addresses can be imported from external data sources - such asdatabases or spreadsheets - and the network discovery feature (ICMP probe) of the IPAM Modulefinds IP addresses that are in use, but not documented anywhere.When planning a migration to IPv6, we need to know the state of each network segment with regardto IPv6 compliance. For that purpose, it is recommended the user create a “custom field” (property)in the Men & Mice Suite called, “IPv6 Test Status” for both IP ranges (network segments) and devices(IP addresses). This field should be able to contain a value from a predefined list. IPv6 test pending: The device or network has not been tested for IPv6 compliance so far. Thisshould be the default value for this field. Not IPv6 compliant: The device/network is not IPv6 compliant; devices need to be replacedwith new equipment. In modern networks, this condition should be rare. Partly IPv6 compliant: The device/network is not IPv6 compliant, but can be made compliantwith an upgrade of hardware or software. Fully IPv6 compliant: The device/network is fully IPv6 compliant, but not configured for IPv6. Ready for IPv6 migration: The device/network is fully IPv6 compliant and fully configured foran IPv6 migration.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite5
Figure 1: Defining PropertiesDivide and ConquerThe Men & Mice Suite has a finely grained, role-based access control system. Access can be easilygranted and controlled for specific users and groups for a specific network as well as device objects.A user only sees objects to which he or she has access. Write access can be restricted to theproperties of a network or device. The manager of an IPv6 migration project can delegate the task ofIPv6 compliance checking to local network administrators. These local administrators can then checktheir network equipments and devices, and update the IPv6 status fields in the Men & Mice IPAddress Management Module accordingly. Each network manager can work asynchronously on thetask - as time permits.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite6
Propagating the ResultsUsing the External Commands feature of the Men & Mice Suite, a script1 is called each time the “IPv6Status” property value of an IP range or device changes. The script compares the status of this fieldfor all devices in a range and all IP ranges in a given network. The “IPv6 Status” value of an IP rangechanges according to the corresponding value for its devices. Changes propagate up the hierarchy inthe Men & Mice IPAM Module.The status of the compliance testing efforts can be seen in a central console application.The IP RangeStatus will bepropagatedupwards thetreeFigure 2: IPv6 test and migration status in the hierarchyIPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite7
Migrating NetworksSimilar to the field, “IPv6 test status”, another property field for IP ranges and devices is createdcalled, “IPv6 migration status”. Possible values are: Migration pending Partially migrated (only for IP ranges, not for devices) Fully IPv6-enabledNetworks can be migrated individually. Migration here does not mean replacing IPv4 with IPv6, butrather enabling IPv6 in addition to IPv4. IPv6 will - in most cases - be enabled in the networkbackbone. From there it can spread outward to perimeter networks.It is also possible to enable IPv6 on the perimeter and tunnel the IPv6 traffic over IPv4 networks usingtransition technologies such as ISATAP, 6to4, or Teredo. Similar to the testing phase, the migrationefforts can be performed asynchronously, leaving the local administrators in control over the speed ofthe migration, while still allowing for a global overview of the migration progress.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite8
Figure 3: IPv6 Status for DevicesThe script used with the External Commands feature keeps track of the values in the property field,“IPv6 migration status,” and propagates the status up the hierarchical tree of the network.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite9
Men & Mice SuiteThe Men & Mice approach solves the problems of IP address management by complementing existingservers with a sophisticated and non-intrusive management layer. This leverages an organization’sinvestment in existing infrastructure. There are typically no radical changes to the organization’s preexisting network.The Men & Mice Suite allows centralized management of DNS, DHCP, and IP addresses. This allowsintegration of all IP address management functionality into a single unified interface, and all IP addressdata into a single centralized database. The Men & Mice Suite works with heterogeneousenvironments and supports Microsoft and Unix/Linux environments (or a mixture thereof) as well asCisco Router DHCP servers.The Men & Mice Suite provides administrators with tools for daily management, automating commonprocesses, planning, reporting, and auditing.Figure 4: Overview of the Men & Mice SuiteIPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite10
The integrated, unified approach of the Men & Mice Suite makes it easy to work with multiple DNSand DHCP servers. Administrators, even in a diverse and geographically dispersed environment, havea unique, real-time overview of the network, enabling consistent IP address management andeliminating duplication in network administration.The Men & Mice Suite contains the following application modules: DNS Management Module DHCP Management Module IP Address Management Module DNS Analyzing and MonitoringIt is possible to implement one or more of the individual Men & Mice modules, but the real value ofthe Men & Mice Suite is realized as a powerful, integrated solution for DNS, DHCP and IP AddressManagement. Working together, the modules provide a unique management solution that enablesorganizations to keep track of their IP address space, individual hosts on the network, and theirassociations in DNS and DHCP.IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite11
ResourcesIPv6 Migration Planning with Men & Mice Screen cast : http://menandmice.com/screencastIPv6 LiteratureDavies, Joseph (2008). Understanding IPv6 (2nd Edition). Microsoft Press. ISBN-10: 0735624461,ISBN-13: 978-0735624467Dunmore, Martin (2005). IPv6 Development Guide. Retrieved fHagen, Silvia (2006). IPv6 Essentials (2nd Edition). O‘Reilly Media, Inc. ISBN-10: 0596100582, ISBN13: 978-0596100582Hogg, Scott and Vyncke, Eric (2008). IPv6 Security (1st Edition). Cisco Press. ISBN-10: 1587055945,ISBN-13: 978-1587055942Malone, David and Murphy, Niall Richard (2005). IPv6 Network Administration. O’Reilly Media, Inc.ISBN-10: 0596009348, ISBN-13: 978-0596009342Siil, Karl A. (2008). IPv6 Mandates: Choosing a Transition Strategy, Preparing Transition Plans, andExecuting the Migration of a Network to IPv6. Wiley. ISBN-10: 0470191198, ISBN-13: 9780470191194Stockebrand, Benedikt (2006). IPv6 in Practice: A Unixer‘s Guide to the Next Generation Internet.Springer. ISBN-10: 3540245243, ISBN-13: 978-3540245247Van Beijnum, Iljitsch (2005). Running IPv6 (1st Edition). Apress. ISBN-10: 1590595270, ISBN-13: 9781590595275IPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite12
Contact Men & MiceFor assistance on IPv6 migration planning and execution, please contact:consulting@menandmice.comFor a license of the Men & Mice Suite to be used for IPv6 migration only, please contact:sales@menandmice.comIPv6 migration planning with the Men & Mice Suite13
IPv6!migration!planning!with!the!Men!&!Mice!Suite! 6!! Figure!1:!Defining!Properties! Divide!and!Conquer! sed!access .