Singapore network managers to get training on IPv6 migration

In an attempt to increase awareness and adoption of IPv6 in Singapore, the IPv6 Forum has appointed both a President of the local forum chapter and local company to train network and IT managers on preparing their business to migrate to the upcoming standard. 

 

IPv6 offers the potential to build a much more powerful Internet, with vastly larger scale compared to the current situation.

 

The abundance of Pv6 addresses allows the assignment of globally- unique IP addresses to objects within the enterprise environment, removes the need for private addressing, and consequently eliminates the capital and operating costs associated with deploying and maintaining Network Address Translation (NAT) devices.

 

IPv6 will engender a new generation of novel applications and services that would support machine-to-machine communications and human- to-machine transactions. In turn, these developments will give rise to unprecedented improvements in operational automation, productivity, and efficiency for the connected enterprise.

 

Victor Tang, managing director at Progreso and the new Singapore chapter president said that the company is partnered with Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) - The National Advanced IPv6 Centre (NAV6) to provide IPv6 Forum Certified Network Engineer Courses in Malaysia, Singapore and the region. 

 

There are currently 3 instructor-led, hands-on, IPv6 certification training courses for professionals and managers: Certified Network Engineer (Silver) for S$2,500 (US$2,083), Certified Network Engineer (Gold) for S$3,500 (US$2,917), and Certified Trainer (Gold).

 

The Silver certification course is to equip participants with the skills and knowledge on the migration from IPv4 to IPv6 and to expose them to the technical expertise required to deploy IPv6 in their organizations. The Gold certification course will provide in depth information on the migration from IPv4 to IPv6 and to expose the participants to the technical expertise needed in router configuration for IPv6 technology. Participants will be trained in the program to equip themselves with strong knowledge on IPv6 routing protocols.

 

According to Tang, Progresso is in discussions with Singapore's Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) for course funding. "A department in IDA has a standard course funding process for technology courses. As a training centre we have applied to that and if successful will be included in this funding," Tang said, "This funding is administered through the students and not the training centre. The student will get a certain amount of refund as funding for the course attended provided they fulfill the terms and conditions."

 

Dr Latif Ladid, Global President of the IPv6 Forum said that education was needed to drive home the importance of the transition to IPv6 as the adoption of the new standard from businesses was still low. 

Ladid added that there was great potential for businesses who are ahead of their competition to take advantage of the opportunities offered by IPv6.  

 

Singapore businesses are well positioned compared to others in the region with 57 organizations having applied for the next-generation IP addresses. However, less than half have made the switch, with 17 having IPv6 sites ready but not publicly accessible.