IPv6 History

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has produced a comprehensive set of specifications (RFC 1752, 1883, 1886, 1971, 1993, etc.) that define the next-generation IP protocol known as "IPng," or "IPv6."

IPng is a new version of IP which is designed to be an evolutionary step from IPv4, and it represents the evolution of many different IETF proposals and working groups focused on developing an IPng.

A brief history of it:

- By the Winter of 1992 the Internet community had developed four separate proposals for IPng. These were "CNAT", "IP Encaps", "Nimrod", and "Simple CLNP".
- By December 1992 three more proposals followed; "The P Internet Protocol" (PIP), "The Simple Internet Protocol" (SIP) and "TP/IX"
- In the spring of 1992 the "Simple CLNP" evolved into "TCP and UDP with Bigger Addresses" (TUBA) and "IP Encaps" evolved into "IP Address Encapsulation" (IPAE).
- By the fall of 1993, IPAE merged with SIP while still maintaining the name SIP. This group later merged with PIP and the resulting working group called themselves "Simple Internet Protocol Plus" (SIPP). At about the same time the TP/IX Working Group changed its name to "Common Architecture for the Internet" (CATNIP).
- IPng was recommended by the IPng Area Directors of the Internet Engineering Task Force at the Toronto IETF meeting on July 25, 1994, and documented in RFC 1752, "The Recommendation for the IP Next Generation Protocol".
- The recommendation was approved by the Internet Engineering Steering Group on November 17, 1994 and made a Proposed Standard.

IPv6 in Mexico.

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) began researches in this subject since December of 1998, date in that is constituted the IPv6 project in our University and afterwards during the second semester of 1999 is notable the UNAM leadership efforts over the national enclosure.

Inside the UNAM IPv6 project was established a wide probing programs and works with Topics such as: implementations, stacks IPv4/IPv6, tunnels, connection software, multimedia applications, Web and DNS servers, autoconfiguration, QoS, IPv6 over ATM, connection with international networks of IPv6 (6Bone, 6REN), IPv6 on Internet2, Etc. Inside the first tests made them, is outstanding the connection to 6Bone, which is a experimental worldwide network used to prove the concepts and the put in motion of the IPv6.

At that time participated in 6Bone in the worldwide enclosure 42 countries, among them Mexico, where the UNAM was the first node in the country, recorded on June of 1999. Later on , in September of 1999 the UNAM was accepted as once of the 67 Backbone nodes, which until these days operates in 6Bone, getting an address range type pTLA: 3ffe:8070::/28, its important to say that with this fact the UNAM was the first node, and the only one, of this kind in Mexico, and the third in Latin America.

In addition, the UNAM could delegate addresses and configure tunnels to academic institutions in Mexico and worldwide, whom will become interested about making proves with IPv6. To rely on with an experimental network in a first stage and later with a production network, was installed the UNAM IPv6 Network, the first IPv6 network in Mexico, that began operations in August of 1999. This network has several tunnels toward others 6Bone Backbone nodes: SPRINT, FIBERTEL,MERIT,BAY NETWORKS JANET and ISI-LAP, and toward the hosts that the UNAM has it running with operative systems such as: Win2000, Solaris and Linux.

Nowadays the UNAM is working in collaborative task with Mexican academic institutions to realize their connection IPv6 toward UNAM.

Among the Mexican institutions stands out: National Polithecnical Institute, Metropolitan Autonomous University , ITESM, Chiapas Autonomous University, Guerrero Autonomous University, Oaxaca Technological Institute, Merida Technological Institute, Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), STYX, ASTER, etc.
Among the Latin American institutions stands out: "Instituto de Informatica de la Universidad Austral de Chile", the Universities UBio-Bio, UFRO and UDLA; RETINA, and the Universities LINTI-UNLP, UBA, from Argentina; EAFIT and the Universities UdeA, UniCauca and UniPamplona from Colombia; INICTEL, NITCOM, and "UNI" from Peru, etc.

In April 2012, it is configured and enabled the first native IPv6 connection, by commercial Internet, from the UNAM to a Mexican ISP, prior to participate in the "World IPv6 Launch" organized also by the Internet Society (ISOC) in June 6th, when it is configured and enabled a second native IPv6 connection, from the UNAM to another Mexican ISP.

In September 2015, it is configured and enabled the third native IPv6 connection by commercial Internet, to a Mexican ISP.

In 2017, it is configured and enabled the fourth native IPv6 connection by commercial Internet, to a US ISP.Also, IPv6 prefixes are formally assigned to some schools of the UNAM.

In March 2018, finally and successfully it is configured and enabled IPv6 in the main portal of the UNAM.

At least annually, to ISPs interested in providing Internet connectivity to the UNAM, are requested to offer native IPv6 connection.