title: 2020 incompatible: without IPv6
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pub_date: 2020-10-16
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author: ungleich
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twitter_handle: ungleich
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_hidden: no
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_discoverable: no
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abstract:
2020 is the year of IPv6 - are you ready for it?
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body:

## TL;DR

As of 2020-10-16 we will start to label software and hardware that is not fully IPv6 compatible
as "2020 incompatible". And we encourage everyone to join.

## Background

Latest with the [exhaustion of IPv4 space at
RIPE](https://www.ripe.net/publications/news/about-ripe-ncc-and-ripe/the-ripe-ncc-has-run-out-of-ipv4-addresses),
it has become a necessity to switch to IPv6 in 2020.

Additionally IPv4 address have become a very scarce and expensive
resource. Not only in buying the actual addresses, but also to keep
the legacy IP stack active and maintained.

## 2020: Switching to IPv6 only networks

Running dual stack networks is not feasible, because you do not profit
from the advantages of IPv6, but suffer from complexity in your
network.

Dual stack networks also limit the scope of IPv6 implementation, as
layouts are orientated on legacy network designs. So in a nutshell: If
you want to make your life easier and your operations less cost
intensive, you switch to IPv6 only networks.

## Blocker for the IPv6 only migration

We argue that there is no practical blocker anymore for moving to IPv6
only networks, because even reachability from the IPv4 Internet can
easily be achieved using [IPv4-to-IPv6
proxies](/u/products/ipv4-to-ipv6-proxy/) or