China’s first network based on IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) formally entered operation on Saturday, according to the China Education and Research Network Information Center (CERNIC). Called CERNET2 (China Education and Research Network 2), the IPv6-based network links 25 universities in 20 cities across China at speeds up to 10G bps (bits per second), CERNIC said in a brief statement posted on its Web site.
The announcement that CERNET2 is now operational came at a ceremony held in Beijing to commemorate the tenth anniversary of CERNET, an IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4)-based network launched in 1994 to connect Chinese universities and research institutes to the Internet.
Sounds like Internet2 to me.
I watched the official celebrations and tech discussions, this weekend, on CCTV, John. Pretty impressive. Can you imagine the MPAA and RIAA trying to deal with an Internet that can download a movie-length DVD in 4 seconds?
If all households in countries like India and China were connected, the address space would have probably run out already, unless the whole hierarchy (IP levelling) was broken. So, it is not shocking that the push to IP6 comes from China.