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Network equipment manufacturer D-Link has reportedly added support for IPv6 to its new DGS-3612G Layer 3 switch – the latest addition to its popular xStack switch family.

This fiber-based core switching solution is designed for long-distance connections of more than 330 feet (100 meters) when paired with another switch in multi-departmental buildings - such as on a school campus, in a small-to-medium sized business (SMB), or in a larger enterprise - requiring a managed, full-featured switch as a centralized point of termination for multiple fiber cable connections. The multi-layer, Single IP Management (SIM) 12-port gigabit switch also provides virtual stacking functionality, allowing up to 32 units to be managed via a single IP address.

In addition to offering full dynamic routing with support for IPv4 and IPv6, plus support for 12 1000BASE-X and/ or 100BASE-FX Fiber transceivers, the solution also offers advanced L2/3/4 QoS and ACLs as well as enhanced Layer 3 routing functionality beyond standard Dynamic RIP & OSPF (making it an ideal solution for campus and hotel environments). In addition, organizations can mix and match transceivers to meet user network needs.

“Support for IPv6 routing is important to securing the future of the network and is key when conducting business with governmental agencies, many of which have been mandated to switch from IPv4 to IPv6 as the Internet expands,” said AJ Wang, chief technical officer for D-Link, in a press release. “The xStack DGS-3612G, with its high performance Layer 3 switch capabilities, IPv6 routing support and long distance fiber cable connectivity, is an ideal solution for ensuring a secured managed network distributed across multiple facilities.”

With the number of available IP addresses now rapidly dwindling, support for IPv6 is largely being viewed as both essential … and inevitable (however, there are those who maintain that this problem can continue to be addressed through NAT traversal for the long term). In fact, the US Office of Policy, Management and Budget has mandated that all government agencies bring their network backbones into full IPv6 compliance by 2008.

“To put the importance of IPv6 into perspective, it will increase the number of addresses available for networked devices from about 4.3 billion addresses to 50 octillion addresses for each of the 6.5 billion people on the Earth,” said Norm Bogen, an analyst with In-Stat (News - Alert). “As IPv4 addresses rapidly dwindle, it is crucial that more manufacturers like D-Link ensure the continued expansion of enterprise network access both in the short and long term.”

With IPv6, it will become possible for every device connected to a network – including cell phones and other wireless devices – to have its own IP address. The advantages of this, which are numerous, include improved security, faster routing and true “end-to-end” connectivity.

For more information, visit www.dlinktv.com.

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Patrick Barnard is Assignment Editor for TMCnet and a columnist covering the telecom industry. To see more of his articles, please visit Patrick Barnard’s columnist page.