California Tests IPv6 Network for Public Safety (7/2) The University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) said it has launched the nation's first interoperable communications network for first responders based on IPv6 - MetroNet6, and officials called the announcement "a major advancement in the development of new technologies for first responders in emergency situations."
"The vision of MetroNet6 is to provide a test bed that public-safety agencies in Sacramento, Calif., can rely on to test interoperability between IPv6-enabled devices, and interoperability with other regions in California, in a controlled setting," said George Usi, project manager of MetroNet6 for the California IPv6 Task Force and president of Sacramento Technology Group. "We also envision MetroNet6 built out with wireless mesh capabilities for disaster response exercises and incidents. In the case of a flood engulfing Sacramento, for example, MetroNet6 could then support triple-play communications through multimedia 24X7X365 from first responders on the ground in Sacramento to a distant command and control center to manage the crisis."
Engineers working on the June Moonv6 test brought the MetroNet6 network live, building out the MetroNet6 infrastructure and testing the IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity between Moonv6 and MetroNet6. They also established UNH-IOL as a temporary, redundant command-and-control center. MetroNet6, an IPv6-based metropolitan network for first responders in Sacramento, will remain up and running permanently.
The project's leaders said public-safety agency networks built on IPv6 have many information-sharing benefits over two-way radios or networks built on IPv4. Most importantly, IPv6 powers the deployment of mobile ad-hoc networks. Communications over this type of network, which could be quickly deployed and linked to other networks, would be fast, bi-directional and secure.
Sacramento Technology Group holds a master service agreement with the state of California to assist in the rollout of MetroNet6 for all state first responders....
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