About 6DEPLOY

6DEPLOY is a two-and-a-half-year European project to provide IPv6 training and support for deployments to network operators, service providers and industry throughout the world.

Since the AfriNIC and LACNIC Regional Internet Registries are members of the Consortium, it is foreseen that much of the training will take place in Africa and Latin America. However, training workshops are also planned for other regions (eg. Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe). The project offers not only the direct training of engineers and network administrators, but will also transfer knowledge and best practices on the subject to other trainers, who can then use the 6DEPLOY material to teach others. The project has IPv6 training labs that can be accessed remotely for performing hands-on exercises on routing and configuration, either during the workshops or at any other time. A professional e-learning course is also accessible via the Website. This can be followed on-line, or downloaded. Subtitles are available in Portuguese and Russian; other languages will be added.

Regarding support for IPv6 deployments, partners are already familiar with Use Cases for schools and university campuses. Benefits can also be envisaged for commercial companies working in such areas as emergency services, transport, broadcast, health, environment, gaming, etc., and the project welcomes requests for support from these industries.

6DEPLOY builds on the IPv6 dissemination material produced during 6DISS, and deployment experiences of the 6NET, Euro6IX and GÉANT projects, as well as the liaisons established with the IPv6 Forum, European IPv6 Task Force and IETF. The aim is to help organisations benefit from this experience, as the deadline for the IPv4 address depletion approaches.

6DEPLOY incorporates thirteen partners from the commercial, research and academic sectors and represents a total investment of EUR 1,272,166; of which 1,000,000 is funded from the Research Infrastructures part of the Capacities Programme of the European Union´s 7th Framework Programme. The project started on 1 March 2008 and runs until 31 August 2010.

Objectives

• Organise workshops for the e-Infrastructure community and give practical advice and hands-on support for deploying it in their environments
• Work on deployments in Europe and in developing countries; exchanging experiences and best practices
• Improve the competitiveness of European industry by informing about experiences from IPv6 deployments in other regions
• Gain expertise with which to support more-commercial deployments in European industries (e.g. Emergency Services, Health, Broadcast, Transport, Schools, Environment, Gaming, ?)
• Help to build consensus between European researchers, by enabling and exploiting synergy among related projects (e.g. GÉANT-2, SEEREN-2, SEE GRID, EUMEDCONNECT, CLARA, ALICE)
• Encourage - and enhance the effectiveness of - the coordination between National and pan-European e-Infrastructure initiatives, by being a focal point for IPv6 activities, giving IPv6 training and supporting IPv6 deployments
• Open up the ICT programme to the participation of third country organisations in International Cooperation Partner Countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, by involving organisations which influence e-Infrastructures on their continents
• Improve scientific cooperation between Europe and the declared target regions (Africa, Asia and Latin America,) by exchanging knowledge and experiences through direct practical support for deployment, training events, etc. The project therefore also helps support other Community policies, notably the development policy. Telecommunications infrastructure and the capability to access information worldwide are key measures of a country?s progress IPv6 has been a cornerstone of European Internet policy for several years
• Support interoperability and standards, by informing of the latest IPv6 standards, equipment hardware and software releases, and IPv6 policies (RIRs)

Work Packages

WP0: Project Administrative and Technical Management

WP0 deals with the day-to-day management of the project; ensuring that the contractual obligations are met, payments are made, handling any contract amendments, liaison with the Commission and other projects, progress monitoring, reporting, etc.

Lead Partner: Martel

WP1: IPv6 workshops and training

This work package updates the IPv6 training material, organises the regional workshops, and provides follow-up support. It utilises the existing 6DISS experience and documentation, supplemented by the knowledge gained from the project partners' participation in the IPv6 Forum, IPv6 Cluster, IETF and other activities.

The professional and popular e-learning course from 6DISS is also maintained here, and will be improved with sub-titles in other languages.

New methods of distributed training will be investigated, such as those provided by the FP7 project Global and UNESCO, via GÉANT.

6DEPLOY will give training sessions at AfriNIC, LACNIC, APNIC, AfNOG, APRICOT, ISOC meetings and similar operator and Internet Registry events. These will be typically 3-4 day workshops including theoretical and hands-on training, or shorter sessions, focusing on the practical work of installing and configuring IPv6 on hosts and routers.

Workshops will also be given with industries or research organisations with e- Infrastructures planning their deployment of IPv6, and with FP7 projects needing support with their IPv6 deployment.

Lead Partner: RENATER

WP2: Practical support for IPv6 deployment

WP2 focuses on the practical support for IPv6 deployment in FP7 projects and industries. Partners in this work package give assistance for the development of a strategic plan (?roadmap?) for the deployment and will advise on practical aspects such as equipment ordering specifications, routing and addressing plans, etc. Another very important aspect of this work package is that partners will give on-site support during the deployment phase. Requests for assistance can be sent either directly to partners, or via the Website helpdesk, which is also part of this work package.

Industries will be reached through FP7 projects (e.g. via Concertation meetings and the IPv6 Cluster), IPv6 Task Forces, conferences, etc. Selection will be made according to criteria such as prioritising European industry - including system integrators -, regional or local government, but always favouring organisations and companies that have already taken the decision to deploy IPv6.

This work package will maintain the IPv6 Deployment Guide (originally produced by 6NET) and include examples of deployment case studies. It will also produce a less-technical ?How to Deploy? guide for SMEs, SOHOs and home users.

Lead Partner: Consulintel