The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is a long process, where neither the driving force, nor the exact steps are clear. There are several transition mechanisms to be used in various environments.

The Catch-22 in transition is the parallel IPv4/IPv6 networking infrastructure. As long as there is need for IPv4, it is hard to set up an IPv6 only network. But as long as IPv4 is available, users are reluctant to switch to IPv6.

The DSTM (Dual Stack Transition Mechanism) method may be used in this situation. Using DSTM, it is possible to create an IPv6-only internal network, where IPv4 connectivity is maintained by tunneling and dual-stack. It will be especially useful in newly-built networks, where there is no need to set up IPv4 in parallel.

This presentation is about the different transition mechanisms and experiences. It describes the operation of DSTM, its pros and cons and the practical experiences with it.