directed the
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to develop the
technical infrastructure (standards and testing) necessary to support
wide scale adoption of IPv6 in the US Government (USG). In response
NIST developed a technical standards profile for US Government
acquisition of IPv6 Hosts and Routers, and a specification for Network
Protection Devices. The Host and Router profile includes a forward
looking set of RFCs published by the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF), encompassing basic IPv6 functionality, and specific requirements
and key optional capabilities for routing, security, multicasting,
mobility, network management, and quality of service. The Network
Protection Device profile contains a NIST established set of capability
requirements for IPv6 aware firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
In addition to the profiles, a testing program is being established to enable products to be tested for compliance with the profile by accredited laboratories.
The profile is embodied as a set of recommendations of NIST, and the
test program supports open and voluntary involvement. While neither
contribution from NIST carries specific policy as developed, it is
envisioned that these pieces can provide a technical infrastructure upon
which other policies and plans can be based.
This page links to information on the USGv6 profile and Testing
Program. It includes links to current and prior versions of the profile,
and associated information.
Comments and/or questions about these efforts can be directed to
usgv6-project@antd.nist.gov .