News Release

Cisco Extends Market Leadership in IPv6 With Industry And Government Certifications

Company Helps Customers Meet Government Mandate and Position for New Growth With IPv6-Ready Technology Solutions, Certifications, Professional Services and Education
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Nov 17, 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 17, 2010 – Cisco today announced that it leads in total USGv6 certification for routers, switches and firewalls, aligning with President Barack Obama's recent directive that all U.S. government agencies upgrade their IT infrastructures in support of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), as the remaining pool of IPv4 addresses shrinks. In addition to certifying its routers, switches and firewalls, Cisco is introducing new features in its ASR 1000 Series routers, use cases, and professional services to help customers transition to IPv6. Additionally, Cisco is the first technology vendor to be certified by the IPv6 Forum to offer IPv6 education and certification for information technology professionals.

Trends including the explosive growth of mobile devices, new video, virtualization and energy management applications, and a rapidly growing network of endpoints controlled and monitored by computer systems, such as smart electrical grids, require the Internet's overall architecture to evolve. The new IPv6 protocol will help meet the ever-increasing global requirements of organizations of all sizes in all industries to support an expanding numbers of users, applications, devices and services. Several countries, such as Brazil, France, Germany, Japan and the United States, are aggressively transitioning to IPv6 to meet this growing demand.

Key Facts:

  • Cisco has pioneered IPv6 technology since its inception in 1996. Through leadership in developing standards on the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and integrating IPv6 into its technology portfolio, Cisco has prepared for this major transition.
  • Cisco has achieved more USGv6 routing, switching, and security certifications, required for all products purchased by U.S. government civilian agencies, than any other vendor. Certified products include:
    • Cisco 1800, 2800, 3800, 1900, 2900 and 3900 Series Routers
    • Cisco Catalyst® 3560 and 3750 (X, G, E) Series Switches, and Cisco Catalyst Blade Switch 3000 and 3100 Series Blades
    • Cisco Catalyst 4500 and 6500 Series Switches
    • Cisco Catalyst 7600 Series Routers
    • Cisco ASA 5500 Series Security Adaptive Appliances
    • Cisco Catalyst 6500 and 7600 Series Firewall Service Modules
  • Cisco is building on its extensive IPv6 support in the ASR 1000 platform, adding support for stateless NAT64 with the latest ASR 1000 IOS® XE Software release. Based on RFC 6052, the latest draft standard, NAT 64 streamlines the transition of endpoints and applications to IPv6 functionality by providing a mechanism for translating IPv6 packets to IPv4 packets, and vice versa. Combined with the Cisco ASR 1000 family FIPS-140-2 certification, the ASR 1000 is a powerful platform enabling government agencies to pursue IPv6 migration strategies. This functionality is critical for organizations that wish to implement an orderly transition to a fully IPv6-enabled infrastructure. 
  • Cisco has developed IPv6 professional services to help customers successfully transition to IPv6 with a portfolio designed to meet customer needs throughout the network lifecycle, from planning and design to deployment and optimization. A phased approach enables customers to adopt IPv6 in a controlled, safe and cost-effective manner while reducing risk to their business.
  • The IPv6 Forum has recognized Learning@Cisco's professional networking portfolio with Gold Certifications for CCIE® Routing and Switching and Silver Certifications for CCNA® and CCNP®. Cisco is the first vendor to be certified by the IPv6 Forum to offer IPv6 education and certification to help ensure that the technical community is equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to design, deploy, operate and troubleshoot IPv6 networks and applications.

Supporting Quotes:

  • Brad Boston, senior vice president, Global Government Solutions Group, Cisco, said:

"Government agencies, institutions and commercial companies around the world are committed to the operational deployment and use of IPv6. Our leadership, attested by industry and government certifications, underscores an architectural commitment to IPv6 across the board – from our devices to our applications and professional services. Our unique knowledge and experience will help our customers move up to the next generation of networking applications and operating systems in order to dramatically enhance communication, collaboration and mobility."

  • Jeanne Beliveau-Dunn, vice president and general manager, Learning@Cisco, said:

"The need for networking talent capable of designing, managing and implementing IPv6 will grow in importance as the availability of IPv4 network addresses is depleted. With the industry's first education and certification program that has been recognized by the IPv6 Forum as Gold standard, we have added another critical component to our companywide initiative to help our partners and customers transition to IPv6 and accelerate the development of the information economy."

Supporting Resources