HPlogo HP-UX IPv6 Porting Guide: HP-UX 11i v2 September 2004 > Chapter 1 Introduction

Does implementing IPv6 require a complete transition from IPv4?

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No. Networks can migrate to IPv6 gradually, using transition mechanisms defined by IPv6 Protocol Specifications. IPv4 and IPv6 will coexist for a long time. IPv6 Protocol Specifications provide two major transition mechanisms:

Dual Stack: Dual-stack hosts have both IPv4 and IPv6 interfaces configured and can communicate with both IPv4 and IPv6 hosts.

Tunneling: Tunneling is a mechanism that has been defined to allow IPv6 packets to be encapsulated in IPv4 packets. A Dual-Stack host can send IPv6 packets through an IPv4 tunnel to a remote IPv6 host, without requiring an IPv6 infrastructure.

© 2004 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.