SUNNYVALE, Calif.-September 15,
2010- NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced that it is the
first storage vendor to declare conformity with the host
profile for U.S. Government acquisition of Internet Protocol
version 6 (USGv6). Furthermore, NetApp is the only storage vendor
listed on the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Labs'
(UNH-IOL's) USGv6 Test
Devices list. As a result, U.S. Government agencies can feel
confident knowing that, as they make the migration to IPv6, NetApp
has declared that the Data ONTAP® IPv6 protocol stack conforms
with the USGv6 host profile.
"IPv6 is where U.S. Government agencies are
headed to better communicate with each other and with the public
via the Internet," said Dale Wickizer, chief technology officer for
NetApp U.S. Public Sector. "IPv6 not only accommodates vastly more
addresses, but also supports more efficient routing and integrated
security. Therefore it's paramount that IT vendors do all they can
to make sure that their products are up to speed and conform with
IPv6 so that agencies can smoothly transition their networks with
minimal disruption. Becoming the first storage vendor to declare
conformance is further testament to NetApp's commitment and
leadership in the Federal space."
IP is the method that allows computers to
communicate with one another via the Internet. While U.S.
Government agencies today still use the existing IPv4, the number
of available addresses is quickly shrinking, making preparations
for IPv6 all the more critical. The U.S. Government has placed such
a high importance on getting ready for IPv6 that the Civilian
Agency Acquisition Council and the Defense Acquisition Regulations
Council (Councils) issued a final rule on December 10, 2009
amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to require IPv6
compliant products be included in all new IT acquisitions using IP.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
subsequently developed a USGv6 profile based on the FAR rule. The
USGv6 profile is a recommended Federal acquisition guide for IPv6
capabilities in common network products. Under the USGv6 profile,
as of July 1, 2010, all IT network vendors must provide a Suppliers
Declaration of Conformity for USGv6 to be considered for any new
government IT purchases.
To declare conformance, NetApp fulfilled
USGv6 requirements by completing all of the prescribed product
development for IPv6 conformance and interoperability testing of
Data ONTAP. This testing was performed by UNH-IOL, one of two
accredited third-party labs approved for USGv6 testing.
More on IPv6
The IPv4 address space is projected to be exhausted around the
2011-2012 time frame at the current rate of address consumption.
IPv6 offers a number of improvements on IPv4, but, most
importantly, it will provide enough addresses to allow every
region, country, and organization around the world to have an
abundance of IP addresses to meet its needs.
While IPv6 is expected to coexist with IPv4
for a considerable period of time, the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses
is a constraint on new network and application deployments and may
impact existing IPv4 installations that need more IPv4 addresses or
need access to IPv6 resources. With its improved and expanded
addressing capacity, more efficient routing, and inherent security
and mobility features, IPv6 is a significant improvement over the
current IPv4 protocol.
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Press Contact:
Ryan Lowry
NetApp
(408) 822-7544
ryan.lowry@netapp.com
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