Integrated IPv6: VIC6 Testbed Network
Integrated
Chip

The VIC6 TestNet is a fully functioning IPv6 network for examining IPv6 compatibility of hardware and software, without any risk of damaging production systems. So just what has VIC6 got, and who helped to build it?

The Basics
Thanks to Neighbourhood Cable, the VIC6 TestNet has native IPv6 connectivity to the IPv6 Internet. Your testing is not limited to a closed, local network; you can test with other organisations or individuals around the state, the country or the world.

Thanks to Cisco Systems, you have a fully-fledged IPv6 and IPv4 dual-protocol network. A Cisco router connects the network to the IPv6 Internet, and a Cisco switch provides 10/100/1000 connectivity within the network. VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) technology allows the 48 ports on the switch to be grouped into various different subnets with different properties. If your testing requires it, we can provide a customised VLAN (or more than one).

Thanks to Lateral Plains, all of the above has a place to live, and expert support personnel to tend it. Visitors to the node can take a seat in a comfortable workspace and connect their laptops or other equipment to the VIC6 node directly. For more complex testing or experimentation, the node has rack space in a professionally maintained data centre - so if you want to test a router or a switch, or you have a server you'd like to install for a while, we can rack it and stack it for you. Lateral Plains also provides the virtualisation expertise underpinning services like DHCP and DNS.

Thanks to IPv6Now, each node has one or more servers providing DNS, DHCP, SSH (Secure Shell), etc, to VIC6 users. IPv6Now also provides all VIC6 partners with free remote IPv6 access to the VIC6 TestNet via their tunnel broker - the first commercial tunnel broker in Australia, and still the only one with guaranteed service level agreements.

Thanks to Nominum, each VIC6 node has industrial strength DNS, DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 services. Instances of the ANS, Vantio and DCS3 products handle the normal DNS and DHCP requirements of each node, plus each node has an instance of ANS and an instance of DCS3 available for you to experiment with.

Thanks to Matrium, some very sophisticated testing and simulation equipment will be provided for the Ballarat node. The Spirent Test Centre is expected to be available by arrangement to any VIC6 partner wishing to perform traffic simulation, test a network design and so on, with basic familiarisation assistance to VIC6 members free of charge. More comprehensive assistance (and sales of hardware) can be provided to VIC6 members at a generous discount.

Thanks to PPS Internet, the whole VIC6 network is watched over 24/7. PPS provides NOC (network operations centre) services to monitor the network, back up critical data and provide an escalating response in case of problems.

VIC6 VLANs
The VIC6 TestNet has four standard Virtual Local Area Networks available for use, plus one management VLAN and one services VLAN. The DNS, DHCP and other similar services are in the services VLAN. The four "user" VLANS are:
  • Public: with full access to and from the Internet
  • Protected: with full access to, but limited access from the Internet
  • No Internet: with no access to or from the Internet
  • Isolated: with no access at all to anything outside the VLAN
Devices can be connected to the appropriate VLAN as desired. If a custom VLAN with particular characteristics is desired, that can be arranged. In the public, protected and isolated VLANs, the router advertises a /64 IPv6 subnet, so attached equipment can use autoconfiguration to acquire a globally routable IPv6 address.

In the public, protected and isolated VLANs, DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 are available. Attached equipment can acquire globally routable addresses via DHCP if so configured. If statically allocated addresses are desired, these are supported too, and the DHCP servers support stateless IPv6 autoconfiguration.

Each VIC6 node has an additional instance of the Nominum DCS3 DHCP server available for experimentation. In conjunction with a custom VLAN, VIC6 members can obtain total control over the address distribution mechanisms.

Each VIC6 node has its own DNS, secondaried on IPv6Now nameservers. All services and servers are addressable by name or by IP address; most are dual-stack. This means that your test environment has "all the comforts of home". Each VIC6 node has an additional instance of the Nominum ANS nameserver available for experimentation; DNS views can be created for specific purposes, using whatever nameserver information you desire (although the exchange of DNS information between these servers and the global Internet can only be permitted if consistent with usual DNS practices and norms).

An ssh server is provided, and each VIC6 partner may have one or more accounts on this server. From this ssh server, connections to other equipment within the VIC6 node can be made. This provides a simple springboard, protecting machines that should not be directly accessible from outside the VIC6 TestNet. Each VIC6 node can also provide, by arrangement, a virtual server to VIC6 partners that need to run software within the VIC6 node.

Would you like to know more? Sign up for involvement with the VIC6 project at vic6.net and find out how you can use the VIC6 TestNet to better understand your own organisation's IPv6 issues and options, and the most cost-effective implementation pathways to adopt.

To discuss this service, please contact George Fong, Project Facilitation Manager: mobile 0438 887 488 or email george@ipv6now.com.au or Karl Auer, Technical Manager: phone (02) 6495 7435 or email kauer@ipv6now.com.au