Is Your Windows Phone System Ready for the Coming IPv4 Doomsday? ;-)

Well, maybe not doomsday! But is your Windows PBX ready for the near future when IPv4 address will run out? IPv4 addresses are running out quicker than I and most people realize--as soon a mid 2011! (checkout the live calculator below)



Starting My IPv6 Journey
I've just been starting the journey of making myself aware of IPv6 issues. Natuarally I wondered: How does the Windows PBX world stack up on this point? Who is ready and who isn't? Here is my quick research--so please verify my findings. I would really like your input if I'm incorrect on any and if you can fill in any blanks! (please comment) Also please note I have not tested all these products.

Phone Servers
(o) OCS 2007 R2 = Not Ready (read more)
(o) Communication Server "14" = Not Ready
(o) pbxnsip = Ready (read more)
(o) 3CX Phone System = Not Ready (read more)
(o) ResponsePoint = Not Ready
(?) Swyx = unknown
(?) Addtran UC = Ready
(o) FreeSwitch = Ready (read more)

Clients
(o) X-Lite = Not Ready (there is an OEM ipv6 version)
(o) 3CX Softphone = Not Ready
(?) Blink SIP Client = unknown
(o) Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2 = Not Ready
(o) Linphone (read more)

Handsets
(o) Cisco/Linksys (79xx seem to support. Read more) = Ready?
(o) snom (read more) = Ready
(?) Grandstream
(?) Aastra
(?) Yealink
(?) Polycom

Gateways
(o) Patton Smarnode
(o) Audiocodes Mediant Series (IPv6 in future release)
(?) Grandstream

Wow, It's Hard to Determine If Equipment is IPv6 Ready!
Once thing I'm finding in my little search is that vendor information on IPv6 is not easy to come by. In most cases it unclear and I've needed to email vendors. Perhaps http://www.ipv6ready.org/ will help to change this? They already have in IPv6 SIP Ready logo and testing process.

Is IPv6 Really Nessesary?
While an IP phone system can be behind a NAT firewall this can often be troublesome. It is quite usual to give a phone system a public IP address and put it in the DMZ so in my opinion this makes it more important in my mind for at least the phone system server to support IPv6. (bear in mind I'm in IPv6 learning mode ;-) My opinion is that vendors that are supporting IPv6 are those leading the way to the future.

There is no doubt the IPv6 is the way forward. I'm glad to see some vendors with foresight leading the way.