Ixia, a maker of network test systems, will ship in March what it claims is the first conformance test suite to support Mobile IPv6. The software is aimed at network equipment manufacturers and service providers that are developing products to support the mobile version of IPv6, a long-anticipated upgrade to the Internet’s main communications protocol.

Developed by the IETF, IPv6 promises easier administration, tighter security and an enhanced addressing scheme over IPv4, the Internet’s current protocol. IPv6, which uses a 128-bit addressing scheme, supports a virtually limitless number of uniquely identified systems on the 'Net, while IPv4 supports only a few billion systems because it uses a 32-bit addressing scheme.

Mobile IPv6 is a companion protocol that describes how to maintain transport and higher-layer connections in IPv6 when a node changes location. IPv6 proponents say mobility is important because users of cell phones, handhelds, laptops and other portable devices are likely to account for a large share of IPv6 users.

While IPv6 was designed a decade ago, and is less than three years old.

Ixia says it is the first company to offer a conformance test suite for Mobile IPv6. The software is available as an add-on module to Ixia’s IxANVL conformance test suite, which can run over Ixia’s own Optixia test platform or a regular PC.

Ixia’s test suite mimics Mobile IPv6 nodes and executes test scenarios to determine how well a network device, software or service complies with Mobile IPv6 protocols.

"We’ve authored a test tool that is focused in several areas of Mobile IPv6," says Dean Lee, senior product line manager at Ixia. "Conformance testing especially for a new technology like IPv6 is very critical for network equipment manufacturers, service providers and network operators."

The Mobile IPv6 option will be available at an extra cost by the end of March. Ixia officials said they haven’t set the pricing for the software module yet.

"The network equipment manufacturers are the biggest driver for this type of conformance test tool, but we anticipate that once the new technology gets rolled out to the Internet and real applications are out there in the field, then there is going to be demand from the service providers to execute this kind of test," Lee says.