TRA hosts IPV6 Roadshow

The TRA aims to build on the success of previous events, having hosted the roadshow in 2011 and 2012.

Held in its Dubai office from the 24th to the 28th March 2013, approximately 30 technical participants from the 15 UAE governmental entities were invited to participate in the training programme and the TRA plans to roll out a series of additional training courses in the coming months.

The course is organized in coordination with RIPE NCC, a leading provider and registry internet resource allocations in the region.

The training course is part of the TRA's strategy to launch a range of initiatives with the view to preparing the UAE's ICT sector to adopt the very latest technologies in the market. The IPv6 training course is focused and highly technical.

"The rate of technological development we are experiencing in the UAE is nothing short of remarkable. With this in mind, it is crucial that all governmental entities are adequately trained to take advantage of the ever changing landscape of ICT," said H.E. Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, Director General of the TRA.

"The transition to IPv6 protocol has implications for both the public and private sector and this year's training programme comes as part of a wider campaign to generate awareness of its benefits. What is particularly valuable about the five-day workshop is the opportunity for technical expertise from the UAE to explain the details of their specific network situations and receive expert advice from international IPv6 specialists. In addition, building IPV6 capacities is also harmonious with the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) objectives and this training programme is one of the many measures put in place by the TRA to ensure the UAE maintains its position at the very forefront of ICT development," he added.

Promoting IPv6 is a key component of the strategic project handled by TRA to facilitate the enablement of IPv6 in the country. The TRA UAE IPv6 project is the initiative championed by the TRA as a means to prepare the UAE and its internet stakeholders for the looming IPv4 depletion ensuring business continuity.

The UAE IPv6 Project aims to devise a National IPv6 policy, strategy and implementation plan to be followed by an implementation phase to securing the healthy levels of growth and development that have long characterized the UAE's ICT sector and preserving its role in economic and social development.

The ultimate goal of the IPv6 training is to relay to participants the importance of adopting this latest internet protocol in their networks and to help build technical capacities to accommodate the various applications and services. The current IPv4 version will become obsolete and as a result, the timing of this training programme is extremely important.

Enabling participants to gain practical expertise in handling IPv6, the TRA will also provide a virtual laboratory for the group allowing them to prepare networks and to test their settings as per the global scenarios. Covering IPv6 transition mechanisms, routing, addressing and security issues, the IPv6 training programme will also include important modules on IPv6 monitoring, security, access, servers and applications.

This is the third year that the TRA has played host to the five day training programme and the event is increasingly important given that it helps facilitate future innovations and critically, ensures that the UAE is home to the most advanced technologies in the world.