If you thing that IPv6 traffic isn’t taking off, think again. Linkedin has seen IPv6 traffic reach more than 50% of the volume received. In their blog post, they state that they see more IPv6 traffic at weekends. A very nice graph indicates the three points where traffic breached the 50% mark.
Admittedly, this was a subset of the overall traffic, selecting US-based mobile devices. The trend is continuing in the same general direction for the globe. IPv6 delivered 23.1% of page views to mobile devices on the same day. And the desktop environment isn’t that far behind, with 22.17% of page views delivered to all devices via IPv6.
But I think the key is these are all at the weekend, and not during the week. What does this mean?
Service providers are deploying IPv6 across their network, with IPv6 to IPv4 gateways at the edge of the network. This is probably a better step than doing the interim half-step of CGNAT (carrier grade NAT). You might not see an IPv6 address on your mobile phone (if you know where to look), or your Windows 10 laptop, but your traffic is IPv6 as it flows into the internet.
In some cases, service providers are expanding IPv6 to the edge device, delegating /64 addresses being used inside the network. This means that IPv6 extends even into your home, and your IPv6-capable mobile phone and Windows 10 device become native IPv6 speakers. A service provider who enables IPv6 in this way can bring millions of devices into the IPv6 cloud quickly. This explains the growth in relative IPv6 at weekends.
But corporate networks need to start the process of becoming IPv6 capable as well. Especially since IPv6 is now standardised by the IETF. Don’t be a laggard, there is no excuse, start the journey today!