News for and about the Internet2 community

[Jimmy Kyriannis <>]

For immediate release:

New York University is the First End Site in 
North America With Global Native IPv6 Multicast Connectivity


New York, NY, Sept 14, 2005 – New York University 
(NYU) today announced that it has begun providing 
native IP Version 6 (IPv6) multicast connectivity 
between its campus and the global IPv6 
Internet.  Until recently, most network backbones 
did not support IPv6 multicast, and end sites 
were required to "tunnel" their multicast 
connections by placing their multicast data 
packets inside conventional, unicast packets and 
sending them to an IPv6 multicast service 
provider.  The growing worldwide network of 
tunnels collectively known as the m6bone 
(www.m6bone.net) has existed over the past 
several years, and is now beginning to be 
replaced by native connections.  In an IPv6 
network design and engineering effort with 
NYSERNet, NYU has connected its campus to the 
worldwide multicast network via a Gigabit 
Ethernet link and IPv6 multicast routing 
protocols without the use of tunnels.  This 
milestone event represents the first time in 
North America that an end site has held native 
global IPv6 multicast connectivity, and is a 
significant evolutionary step in the growing 
deployment of IPv6 multicast connectivity.

As IPv6 unicast and multicast communications 
develop within the industry, NYU is actively 
researching the use of IPv6-enabled applications 
and network services.  Technologies such as DVIP 
(Digital Video over IP) and Conferencing are two 
examples of technologies being explored for use 
with IPv6 multicast.  At the network level, the 
impact of relatively new multicast technologies 
on network infrastructure, such as SSM 
(Source-Specific Multicast) and Embedded RP 
(multicast routing Rendezvous Point) is being 
evaluated, and testing is underway in support of 
production service and academic research.

NYU has been designing and implementing IPv6 
networks since early 1997, as one of the first 
universities to establish a connection to the 
6bone: the world’s first global IPv6 unicast 
network, also implemented with tunnel-connected 
end sites.  This most recent IPv6 accomplishment 
was achieved as part of an ongoing collaboration 
between NYU and NYSERNet.  NYSERNet provides NYU 
with high-bandwidth research network connectivity 
through its statewide optical network and global 
connections through networks including 
Internet2's Abilene and CANARIE's CA*Net 4. 
NYSERNet has been offering IPv6 multicast 
services over tunnels for the past two years, and 
as part of this initiative, has begun providing 
native connectivity as well.  Over the NYSERNet 
network, NYU researchers can use IPv6 and IPv4 
with equally high performance to reach their 
collaborators anywhere in the worldwide research 
community.  Native IPv6 multicast access for NYU 
now brings this service on par with the high 
performance native IPv4 multicast connectivity 
NYU currently receives from NYSERNet.


The principal technology lead at NYU for IPv6 is Jimmy Kyriannis.


About NYU
New York University (www.nyu.edu), located in the 
heart of Greenwich Village, was established in 
1831 and is one of America’s leading research 
universities and a member of the selective 
Association of American Universities.  It is one 
of the largest private universities in the US and 
a leader in attracting international students and 
scholars in the U.S.; it sends more students to 
study abroad than any other U.S. college or 
university.  Through its 14 schools and colleges, 
NYU conducts research and provides education in 
the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, 
dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and 
performing arts, music, public administration, 
social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.

About NYSERNet
NYSERNet is a private New York State 
not-for-profit corporation created to foster 
science and education in New York State through 
advanced network technologies and applications. 
An Internet pioneer, NYSERNet has delivered 
next-generation network services to New York 
State's education and research community for 
twenty years. More information about NYSERNet can 
be found at http://www.nysernet.org.


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