Network engineers completed their first-ever test of common enterprise applications over the world’s largest IPv6 network this summer -- and the results announced today were mixed.

Experts were able to get basic office functions -- file sharing, printing and Web design, for example -- working with IPv6, but it wasn't easy. As for e-mail, well, that hasn't even been tested yet.

The 13 companies involved in the testing, including Microsoft, HP and Adobe, discovered that making the transition to IPv6 will require a significant amount of training and time for IT staffs.

"We found that setting up office applications, especially if you had zero IPv6 knowledge, you would have a hard time learning how to set up these servers," says Erica Johnson, senior manager of software applications at the University of New Hampshire’s InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL), which oversaw the IPv6 tests.

"There’s going to be a knowledge gap for network administrators and IPv6 developers," Johnson says. "They are going to have a hard time setting up simple servers for IPv6 networks. I definitely see an HR challenge for setting up these office networks."

Testers also discovered major gaps in the availability of IPv6-ready applications, particularly e-mail.

"What really needs to be tested still is e-mail," Johnson says. "Everyone needs e-mail, and we have not seen anything tested on [the multivendor Moonv6 test bed] yet. That doesn’t mean there aren’t e-mail implementations for IPv6, but that means they aren’t being outwardly tested yet. This is a major gap for offices to be able to complete transition to IPv6."

UNH-IOL officials also haven’t seen any proprietary applications run over Moonv6 yet.

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