Connect. Secure. Manage.
Cisco IPv6 Deployment
Plan IPv6 adoption on Cisco networks, including dual-stack addressing, routing, security controls and application testing during the transition.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
Cisco IPv6 deployment changes more than the length of an address. Devices find neighbours and reach services in different ways, and the security rules need to match. We plan IPv6 on supported Cisco networks alongside the IPv4 service you still need. Tests cover both, so the transition has a clear scope and recovery plan.
Cisco-focused engineering
Design around the platform, traffic and failure behaviour you actually operate.
Change with evidence
Use pre-checks, acceptance criteria and a documented route back.
Operational handover
Keep the configuration, diagrams and responsibilities understandable after delivery.
Decide where IPv6 creates value
The first question is which services actually need IPv6. A business may need to reach IPv6-only partners, prepare internet-facing apps for broader compatibility, modernise a data-centre setup or address limitations in a growing network. These are different aims and do not necessarily justify enabling IPv6 everywhere immediately.
We find the relevant offices, WAN links, firewalls, wireless networks, cloud connections and apps. The assessment includes service-provider capability and any restrictions imposed by current security appliances. A technically capable switch is not enough if the firewall, monitoring system or upstream provider cannot support the proposed design.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
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Create an addressing and allocation plan
IPv6 addressing requires deliberate prefix allocation and documentation. We consider the prefix delegated or assigned to the organisation, how it will be subdivided among sites and VLANs, and how stable allocations can accommodate growth. The aim is an address plan that engineers can interpret without reverse-engineering hundreds of individual interface settings.
We also consider link-local addressing, gateway conventions, loopbacks and the role of DNS. A device may have several IPv6 addresses with different purposes and lifetimes. Support procedures must distinguish those addresses rather than treating every entry as an equivalent endpoint identifier.
A useful starting point
Not sure where to start?
Bring the requirement. We will help you define the engineering work.
Choose a controlled transition model
Dual stack is often a practical transition approach because IPv4 and IPv6 can operate alongside one another. It does, however, create two forwarding and security setups that must both be maintained. We decide which VLANs and services will be dual-stack first and establish how their behaviour will be checked.
Where a network depends on translation, tunnelling or another transition mechanism, we review its operational consequences. An apparently simple shortcut may complicate troubleshooting or introduce dependencies on a service that has no resilience. We prefer a staged plan with defined milestones and a clear reason for each transition component.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Design router advertisements and endpoint configuration
IPv6 endpoints often learn important network information through router advertisements, while DHCPv6 and other mechanisms may supply extra setup depending on platform and client behaviour. We review which method fits the endpoint population and how DNS information will be delivered.
Rogue router advertisements can cause disruption or redirect traffic. On supported Cisco access platforms, controls such as RA Guard may be relevant. But they must be chosen and tested for the actual topology. We do not apply an IPv6 security template blindly to uplinks, legitimate routers or specialist devices.
Extend routing and segmentation consistently
The routing design must carry IPv6 prefixes across the intended paths. We assess static routes or the appropriate supported dynamic routing protocols, their neighbour relationships and the effect of a failed link. IPv6 should not create an accidental bypass around the security boundaries already defined for IPv4.
We map the required traffic flows through firewalls, remote access, cloud network access and monitoring systems. A policy that is restrictive for IPv4 may have no corresponding IPv6 rule if the setup has been enabled piecemeal. We clearly test both permitted and denied connections rather than assuming equivalent behaviour.
Prepare application and operational testing
An app may appear IPv6-ready because its operating system supports the protocol, yet still depend on IPv4-only components, hard-coded addresses or logging systems that cannot interpret IPv6 records. We test DNS resolution, connection choice, authentication and representative user workflows.
Troubleshooting procedures need to cover IPv6 neighbour state, routes, DNS answers and the actual address family chosen by a client. If an app fails intermittently, it matters whether it is trying IPv6 first and falling back, or using different network paths for different destinations. We capture evidence from both endpoints and intermediate devices.
Plan rollout, rollback and monitoring
We recommend a pilot with chosen users and services, followed by controlled expansion. Each stage should have acceptance criteria, change ownership and a rollback method. Removing an IPv6 setup may not immediately reverse every DNS or endpoint state change, so recovery needs to be planned rather than improvised.
Monitoring should distinguish IPv4 from IPv6 reachability and record the relevant protocol and interface conditions. Security logs, vulnerability reviews and asset inventories must include the new address family. Otherwise, the organisation may operate a network it cannot fully observe.
Keep the network supportable
IPv6 introduces an extra lifecycle responsibility. Address allocations, firewall rules, routing policies and app dependencies need to be kept current. We recommend documenting which services are fully dual-stack, which remain IPv4-only and which use a transitional arrangement.
MCI provides Cisco and Meraki network services throughout the UK, with particular focus on London, Kent, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire. We can assess IPv6 readiness, design a staged Cisco rollout and check the resulting network access and security behaviour before broader adoption.
Talk to a specialist
What does your network need next?
Tell us what you are planning, changing or trying to improve. We will help define a practical next step and the engineering scope.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
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