As noted in my post "The Transition to IPv6 is not the End of the World. No, Really." the way numbering and identifying Internet connected devices – or IP addresses – is done is changing from the current IPv4, and we will soon be adding more through the change to IPv6. The transition to IPv6 is not a surprise to communications and Internet Service Providers (like AT&T, Sprint, Comcast, Time Warner and others), network infrastructure companies (like Cisco and Juniper), large multinational companies, or companies like Microsoft.
As one example in support of the change, today the Bing team World IPv6 Day: Bing taking decisions to the next generation of the Internet…
"Microsoft and other major technology companies have been working behind the scenes for years to outline a clear path to the next generation Internet Protocol, IPv6. Although a complete migration will take years, we are hopeful that the vast majority of people will never notice the transition.
"Microsoft has worked as a member of Internet Society (ISOC) – and more generally the Internet community – to invest in and ensure that there is a seamless transition from IPv4 to IPv6. It is especially important for Microsoft’s online services like Bing to be prepared. For this reason, Bing is joining other major websites in “World IPv6 Day” on June 8, 2011 as part of the Internet Society’s effort to validate the readiness of IPv6 as new foundation of the Internet.
"On June 8, we will enable world-wide IPv6 connectivity to Bing.com, for the purposes of a one-day test. Consumers with IPv6 Internet capabilities will automatically access this new method of connectivity. This necessitates both a device that supports IPv6 (like a Windows 7 PC), and support from your Internet provider.
"IPv4 traffic will continue to connect to Bing without any change. In fact, most Bing users won’t even notice that this transition is occurring."
As noted in my previous posts on IPv6, Microsoft has been working on our products and services to support IPv6. Microsoft maintains the Microsoft IPv6 information site on TechNet to provide more information on this new IP. There you can read more about how we’ve already built IPv6 support into the latest versions of Microsoft Windows, including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, and even in older versions such as Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and even Windows XP and Windows CE .NET. We offer overviews of IPv6, technical information, deployment and developer resources, including an overview of Teredo, the Microsoft platform that provides IPv6 connectivity across the current IPv4 Internet.
Tags: Windows, Microsoft, IPv6, IPv4
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