“IPv6 Keeps Us Highly Competitive and Helps Us Remain at the Forefront”

30/11/2020

“Implementing IPv6 KIO,” the project by KIO Networks Mexico for enabling state-of-the-art equipment, tools and network protocols, led the company to receive the second prize in the eighth edition of the IPv6 Challenge organized by LACNIC.

Driven by its pioneering spirit, the technical team at KIO designed the project to be at the same level as major Internet players in Mexico and the region.

The initiative was led by Daniel García Mata, who noted that, as the ecosystem changes, we will soon see the consumption of IPv6 increase over IPv4 as the paradigm shifts within the ecosystem with regard to the benefits and utilization of the v6 protocol.

What prompted you to participate in the IPv6 Challenge?

The challenge served as further encouragement for the constant technological renovation of the networks in our Mexican datacenters, where we have deployed IPv6 and other technologies and services for clients hosted in the datacenters in a short period of time. This prepared our company for future requirements and, as always, our infrastructure and services remain at the forefront, which is why we decided to present the progress and outcomes of our project to the LACNIC community.

What did the “Implementing IPv6 KIO” project entail?

At KIO Networks we have a framework project called Olympus that includes various tracks, one of which is the implementation of IPv6 KIO. This project consists of migrating more than 7,000 ports from legacy infrastructure to a totally renewed and re-architectured network that can easily compete with major ISPs and datacenters worldwide.

The implementation of IPv6 KIO consists of enabling state-of-the-art equipment, tools and network protocols (segment routing, EVPN, automation, telemetry, artificial intelligence, among others) currently used by other technology giants that are part of the market. This strengthens an agile and intelligent provision of services and, above all, allows us the ability to face new challenges with services using IPv6 in our datacenters.

What results did you achieve with the project? Were you able to meet your goals?

Absolutely. We managed to prepare all our communications backbone, edge to Internet carriers, DNS and even enable 6VPN (VPN Provider Edge over MPLS) to deliver IPv6 services through our MPLS network with EVPN. Today, we are ready to offer the deployment to our clients hosted in our datacenters, thus offering them the opportunity to join the new IPv6 era.

Thanks to this, KIO Networks remains highly competitive by offering IPv6 services that will lead us to the forefront of the Information Technology market.

Did the pandemic increase the difficulties involved in IPv6 deployment or did it rather accelerate your project?

The pandemic represented a challenge for many reasons, the main one being the need to work remotely with a team with whom we were used to working daily on site. However, our KIO DNA revealed itself at all times: our innovation, commitment, agility, sense of urgency, confidence and flexibility were the engine that drove our IPv6 deployment.

In your opinion, are organizations in Mexico and the region aware of the need to implement and deploy IPv6?

IPv6 deployment is certainly on their minds and many organizations have already analyzed IPv6 deployment, which has picked up speed in recent years. We will soon see the consumption of IPv6 increase over IPv4 as the paradigm shifts within the ecosystem with regard to the benefits and utilization of the v6 protocol.