Evaluating the effectiveness of packet filter firewall applications in a 'dual stack' Internet Protocol environment

It is becoming more apparent that there is a need for service providers to update their deployment plans for Internet Protocol version 6 or IPv6. The availability of IPv4 addresses is expected to reach exhaustion in late 2011 [1]. Transition to IPv6 will not happen all at once. Devices using IPv6 networking, are being introduced to an environment entrenched with Internet Protocol version 4 or IPv4. For network service and infrastructure providers, this means a period of time where support for both Internet protocols will be necessary. The "dual IPv4, IPv6 stack" is a reality to be dealt with for the next several years.IPv6 solves the IP address capacity problem and brings new features but it also brings new risks. The "dual stack" approach increases the number of potential contact points between networked devices and will require an increase to the scope of interface management. For the network administrator, it will be important to understand how the "dual stack" environment will function and how to assure security.Technology providers have been implementing IPv6 capabilities including networking services and security tools for the past several years in anticipation for the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. This thesis will describe the technical background and an experiment to test the capability of two different host based applications for effective packet filtering in a dual IPv4, IPv6 stack environment.