6. Conclusion

The 6VPE BGP/MPLS IPv6 VPN architecture was standardized at the IETF before the softwire group began its work, with the first implementations already available in 2004. This solution can be seen as a transition mechanism to IPv6, as the core MPLS network remains IPv4. However, because of its performance, it can also be seen as a target solution for IPv6 VPN service. As with IPv4, no single device in the 6VPE network needs to maintain all IPv6 VPN routes, so scaling up as the service is gradually rolled out is not limited by a single network component. The ability to partition VPN-IPv4 and VPN-IPv6 routes on separate devices (separate RRs, separate inter-AS gateways, etc.) offers additional flexibility so as not to overload the existing core infrastructure or be limited by the availability of functions on devices.