The dual stack technique is likely to become quite common as companies make the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. As the name suggests, this method involves running both IPv4 and IPv6 protocol stacks on network equipment such as hosts and routers until the transition to a purely IPv6 network can be completed. Under this scenario, Cisco routers on a network would be configured to route both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, with hosts configured to use both protocol stacks as well. Cisco has already developed versions of its IOS software that support both protocol stacks simultaneously. Unfortunately, it will likely take quite some time before all of the applications that end users require access to support IPv6. As such, using a dual-stack technique would quite likely be a long-term arrangement, requiring two protocol stacks to be managed simultaneously, not to mention greater memory requirements on equipment like routers. However, the dual stack technique does provide an effective method for organizations to begin deploying and testing IPv6 throughout their networks.
