By Tom S. Noda
Computerworld Philippines
March 11, 2009

The Advanced Science and Technology Institute (ASTI) of the Philippines is recommending the creation of a public IPv6 laboratory to solve the “problem within the problem” in the issue of global IPv4 exhaustion, which is the lack of trained professionals in the IPv6 arena.

ASTI director Denis Villorente told Computerworld Philippines that ASTI has made a proposal to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) to grant funds for the establishment of an IPv6 lab that is open for public use. ASTI is a research and development institute under the DOST.

“Through this IPv6 lab, anyone who wants to study IPv6 will be given the resources needed to set up their own test bed,” Villorente said, adding the facility would help in the creation of IPv6 experts who will support the migration of IPv4 to IPv6.

As early as 2007, reports declared 2010 as the year when the world would run out of IP addresses using IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4). Another major problem is that people who know how to do the migration are only a few, Villorente said.

In the recent 2009 Asia Pacific Regional Internet Conference on Operational Technologies or APRICOT2009, held at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, ASTI officers explained that migration from IPv6 is needed since it is the only way in which IP addresses can be increased.

Compared to IPv4—that uses only 32 bits for IP address space—the IPv6 has 128 bits, which translates to “trillions” of IP address capacities. This means all devices can have their own IP address that would allow direct communication with one another without having to pass through a network.

Peter Banzon, division head of ASTI, said the funding required for the IPv6 lab amounts to about Php5 million to Php10 million.

“The lab’s function would be big since it will be part of a DOST project for the creation of one laboratory for all research institutes in the Philippines,” Banzon said.

Banzon said the proposal is still under evaluation but expressed confidence that it will be approved within this year.

Aside from the creation of experts in the field of IPv6, Banzon said the public IPv6 lab would also help in the making of IPv6 products as well as new applications for the next generation Internet.

Villorente added ASTI has also agreed with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) to convene an IPv6 working group in order to come up with an IPv6 roadmap for the country.

The recent APRICOT conference had a total of five hands-on workshops conducted over the first five days of the event. Among the topics were VoIP, network management and NOC, IPv4 and IPv6 routing, network security, and advanced routing.

“This year’s APRICOT meeting helped a lot in the development of local engineers since world-class trainers gave hands-on exercises to local participants,” Villorente said. “Usually, these kinds of trainings are only available abroad.”

Villorente said one of the highlights of the APRICOT meeting was in the marketing of the neutral internet exchange that ASTI is managing, and a lot of local networks were able to learn about the existence of the Philippine Open Internet Exchange (PHOpenIX).

He added ASTI also conducted in the conference the TEIN3 (TransEurasia Information Network Phase 3) project launch for the Philippines as ASTI is now promoting more active use of this network by its research and education community.

Villorente said ASTI has always been an IPv6 advocate since the late 1990s by being involved with the AI3 and SOI-Asia project of the WIDE Project of Japan.

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