FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Plains Network Consortium Members Gearing up for World IPv6 Day on June 8

As Internet providers like Google prepare for a one-day test of the new Internet Protocol, version 6, on World IPv6 Day on June 8,  members of the Great Plains Network, a consortium of leading universities in the Midwest, believe that the inevitable may finally happen.  Their support for pervasive and advanced networking in all areas of research, education, health care and learning depends on the successful deployment of this new technology.

The IPv6 standard was first published and disseminated in 1998.  However adoption has been difficult.  Hence, the need for special attention and this unique, one-day event.

Expertise in this important technology extends across the GPN region.  Great Plains Network members began exploring IPv6 as early as 2000 and GPN held its first IPv6 tutorial, in partnership with the University of Nebraska and Internet2, in 2002.  Following the GPN tutorial in 2002, technical staff at the University of Missouri at Columbia began experimenting with IPv6 for the university research network.  KanREN, the Kansas Research and Education Network, began experimenting with IPv6 in 2003, Iowa State University in 2004, Kansas State University in 2005, and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 2007.  KanREN went into full IPv6 production mode in 2004 and the University of Kansas deployed IPv6, campus-wide, in 2006.

About GPN
The Great Plains Network (GPN) is dedicated to supporting scientific research and education through the use of advanced networking technology and cyberinfrastructure. The vision of GPN
is to enhance competitiveness and economic benefit by providing leadership in advanced, high-performance applications and network technologies to enable the Great Plains region to lead
in innovative learning/educational environments and collaborative research. GPN membership includes 23 universities in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota.

Primary Contact Information
Greg Monaco, Ph.D.
Great Plains Network
423 Bluemont Hall
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
785-554-9657
greg@greatplains.net