The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration (OASD-NII) established a mandate in 2003 that all DoD networks be IPv6 capable by the year 2008. In support of this mandate, the OASD-NII authorized the formation of IPv6 Pilots in Operational Networks to demonstrate the functional capabilities of IPv6 and help build expertise for a DoD-wide transition. The Pilots must fulfill defined Joint Staff operational criteria and three Milestone Objectives (MO) for a complete IPv6 transition. The Global Broadcast Service (GBS) is a satellite communications program which provides a worldwide, high bandwidth, one-way transmission of classified and unclassified video and files to warfighters. In support of the OASD-NII mandate and the DoD's Network-centric visions, the GBS Joint Program Office (GBS-JPO) and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) have been jointly investigating the transition of GBS to IPv6. GBS-JPO and DISA jointly submitted a nomination package and have obtained approval for participation in the DoD IPv6 Pilot. GBS-JPO and DISA have established a simulated satellite testbed on which all tests will be performed. The testing will establish the feasibility of conducting live SATCOM demonstrations to fulfill MO1 and MO2. MO2 will additionally utilize the DATMS-U and the Defense Research Engineering Network (DREN) for cross domain testing. This paper will discuss the different phases of the GBS Pilot, the IPv4/IPv6 transition technologies involved, the interoperability with High Assurance Internet Protocol Encryptors (HAIPEs), and the simulcasting of IPv4 and IPv6. The results of the GBS IPv6 pilot will serve to provide a reference architecture and requirement specifications for the IPv6 transition of the GBS network infrastructure.
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