Networks must support dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 traffic. Maintaining network performance, workforce productivity and continuity of operations are key testing issues.
With the supply of IPv4 addresses depleted, the move to IPv6 is no longer optional. Networks must support dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 traffic.
Maintaining network performance, workforce productivity and continuity of operations are concerns as carriers and enterprises transition to IPv4/IPv6 interoperability. To further complicate matters, implementations—and even specifications of some features—continue to evolve. IPv6 testing is necessary for ongoing validation.
What to Test
IPv6 testing must cover the following:
Conformance
- Resilience to corrupted/invalid scenarios
- Conformance to standards
Functionality
- Impact of new header and addressing on queuing
- Address storage and lookup/forward efficiency
- Effect of stacked headers on performance
- Behavior of QoS/CoS
- Behavior of routing protocols (BGP, OSPF, MPLS)
Performance
- Tunneling IPv4 and IPv6 (6over4, 4over6)
- Impact of new state machines on performance (ex: neighbor discovery, anycast)
- Multicast performance over IPv6 work
- Stateful TCP and application performance and impact on QoE
Spirent Solutions
Spirent offers solutions for all your IPv6 testing needs:
