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Where Do I Start If I Want IPv6 Internet Access?

If you have a home network, once your ISP has given you an IPv6 service, enabling IPv6 might require changing the router or modem you use to access the Internet. Your ISP should advise you on suitable models when they start providing you IPv6 connectivity. All modern computer operating systems are ready to use IPv6.

Whether you want IPv6 Internet access at home or at work, you'll find IPv6 available from some ISPs, even if your current provider is not ready yet. Alternatively, if you are technically minded you might want to configure an IPv6 tunnel from an IPv6-ready service provider. Some IPv6 service providers offer tunnels for free.

Business networks will also need to make sure that their public services, such as DNS, web and e-mail are available over IPv6. This can either be done by bringing in IPv6 connectivity and running services on your own network or by hosting your public services with one of the many DNS, web hosting and e-mail providers offering IPv6 connectivity.

Third Party Information Resources

AfriNIC Virtual Lab - http://www.afrinic.net/projects/cvl.htm

APNIC IPv6 Program - http://www.apnic.net/community/ipv6-program

ARIN IPv6 wiki - http://getipv6.info/index.php/Main_Page

LACNIC IPv6 Portal - http://portalipv6.lacnic.net/en/

RIPE NCC information site - http://www.ipv6actnow.org/

Domain Name System
Internationalized Domain Name ,IDN,"IDNs are domain names that include characters used in the local representation of languages that are not written with the twenty-six letters of the basic Latin alphabet ""a-z"". An IDN can contain Latin letters with diacritical marks, as required by many European languages, or may consist of characters from non-Latin scripts such as Arabic or Chinese. Many languages also use other types of digits than the European ""0-9"". The basic Latin alphabet together with the European-Arabic digits are, for the purpose of domain names, termed ""ASCII characters"" (ASCII = American Standard Code for Information Interchange). These are also included in the broader range of ""Unicode characters"" that provides the basis for IDNs. The ""hostname rule"" requires that all domain names of the type under consideration here are stored in the DNS using only the ASCII characters listed above, with the one further addition of the hyphen ""-"". The Unicode form of an IDN therefore requires special encoding before it is entered into the DNS. The following terminology is used when distinguishing between these forms: A domain name consists of a series of ""labels"" (separated by ""dots""). The ASCII form of an IDN label is termed an ""A-label"". All operations defined in the DNS protocol use A-labels exclusively. The Unicode form, which a user expects to be displayed, is termed a ""U-label"". The difference may be illustrated with the Hindi word for ""test"" — परीका — appearing here as a U-label would (in the Devanagari script). A special form of ""ASCII compatible encoding"" (abbreviated ACE) is applied to this to produce the corresponding A-label: xn--11b5bs1di. A domain name that only includes ASCII letters, digits, and hyphens is termed an ""LDH label"". Although the definitions of A-labels and LDH-labels overlap, a name consisting exclusively of LDH labels, such as""icann.org"" is not an IDN."