Stonesoft support for IPv6.

Stonesoft have announced that its StoneGate Firewall, VPN and Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) solutions will support IPv6. The first StoneGate IPv6 solutions are scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2008.

The next generation Internet Protocol IPv6 will increase the number of available addresses for Internet-enabled devices, delivering enhancements in security, quality of service (QoS), and auto-configuration capabilities. The protocol has been under design and development for over 10 years, but global adoption has been slow due to the limited number of solutions supporting this protocol.

The importance of IPv6 has been recognised particularly in the U.S., where the Federal Government has set a deadline that all of its agencies should be IPv6 ready by June 30, 2008. In Europe, the transition to IPv6 has until now been largely limited to education and research networks.

"The IPv6 era is beginning and we are ready to help our customers seamlessly migrate to this next-generation protocol, especially since our StoneGate solutions are built onLinux which recognises IPv6 traffic today," said Ilkka Hiidenheimo, CEO of Stonesoft. "Stonesoft sees great promise in the future of IPv6. StoneGate solutions will allow our customers globally to ensure the security of their IPv6 traffic and benefit from the added reliability and stability that are the hallmarks of IPv6."

www.stonesoft.com.