Here are answers to some of your most frequently asked questions:
Q. What’s an IPv4-IPv6 Transformer?
A. The Datatek Applications IPv4-IPv6 Transformer changes a legacy IPv4-only device into a dual-stack IPv4/IPv6 host.
Q. What’s a legacy IPv4-only device?
A. It could be a PC, a server, a printer, a network appliance - it’s anything with a LAN port that doesn’t understand the new Internet Protocol Version 6, or IPv6. Virtually every device with a LAN port understands Internet Protocol Version 4, or IPv4. Since the inception of the Internet, IPv4 has become so ubiquitous that no one bothered to mention the version number and simply referred to it as IP, or TCP/IP. One day IPv6 will completely replace IPv4. In the mean time, IPv6 and IPv4 will coexist and new devices will support both protocols. Legacy devices that only support IPv4 will be at disadvantage.
Q. How do I connect to your Transformer?
A. It’s simple. The Transformer has two LAN ports, a host-side port and a network-side port. First, disconnect your legacy device from the network and plug it into the Transformer’s host-side port. Next, hook the Transformer’s network-side port up to your network. Finally, configure the Transformer using a web-browser and you’re done.
Q. Do I have to install your software on my legacy device?
A. No, there’s no software to install on the legacy device.
Q. Will I need to make any changes to my legacy device?
A. Typically, you will need to change the legacy device’s IPv4 address, subnet mask, default router and DNS server. This is because the Transformer uses the legacy device’s original IPv4 address on its network-side port, and the legacy device will use a private address that’s only visible on the host-side of the Transformer. However, if the legacy device is set up to get these parameters from a DHCP server, the Transformer will automatically reconfigure the legacy device.
Q. How hard is it to configure the Transformer?
A. The Transformer is shipped with a default configuration provides basic capabilities for a typical device. If this default configuration that works for you, no changes are required. For more complex features and special network configuration, the Transformer provides a secure, web-based graphical user interface (GUI) that’s accessible from either the host or network side ports, using either IPv4 or IPv6. In addition, a serial console interface enables initial configuration when the LAN ports are unavailable.
Q. Why shouldn’t I just upgrade the software on my legacy device to support IPv6?
A. If you can, you should. However, this may be more difficult than it appears. The software running on a legacy device typically consists of an operating system and several network applications. Both the operating system and the network applications will need to be upgraded to support IPv6. For older systems, upgrades for every component may not be available. Even when upgrades are available, the cost of the new software and additional costs to re-test and re-certify it may be prohibitive. In these cases, the Transformer is a cost-effective solution.
Q. How many legacy devices can a Transformer support?
A. Currently 1 IPv4 device but we are developing a method to support multiple IPv4 devices. We took great care to limit the problems that an IPv4 device can face when using Network Address Translation. Experience with IPv4 NATs shows that there can be problems with application delivery when use of multiple levels of NATs are used. When faced with servicing many IPv4 users, Large-Scale NATs (LSNs) have to be used. They face issues with memory allocation and IPv4 address mapping, can be a single point of failue and be the target of denial of service attacks. The way to bypass these LSN problems is to use Datatek's IPv4-IPv6 Transformer. The Transformer makes your services accessible directly over IPv6 - on a relatively small scale, tightly coupled with your IPv4 legacy device at the network edge and in a secure, controllable environment.
Q. If I use a Transformer, can my legacy device still use IPv4 to communicate with other legacy devices on the network that don’t have Transformers?
A. Yes, of course. The Transformer adds IPv6 capability to a legacy device that only supports IPv4. It’s doesn’t remove the legacy device’s IPv4 capability.
Q. Can I put a Transformer between two routers?
A. No, that’s not supported.
Q. My legacy device gets its IP address from a DHCP server. Will this still work with a Transformer?
A. Yes, the Transformer can act as a DHCP server to the legacy device.
Q. My legacy device connects to hosts by using domain names, not IP addresses. Can it still do this?
A. The Transformer has an DNS ALG that will forward your legacy device's queries for an IPv4 address to a DNS server A DNS may have both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses associated with that host's domain name. In that case, the DNS will first return the host's IPv6 address to the Transformer and IPv4-IPv6 translation will occur between the IPv4 legacy device and the IPv6 host. If only an IPv4 address exists for that host, the DNS will return the host's IPv4 address the to the Transfomer and no translation will occur between the IPv4 legacy device and the IPv4 host.
