Free and Low-Cost IPv6 Training Resources
Scott HoggEducating IT teams on the nuances of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a critical step in the IPv6 deployment process. To maximize the IT training budget yet still make progress and acquire some initial IPv6 training, the recommended strategy is to first leverage free and low-cost IPv6 training options. It is also recommended to obtain education on IPv6 early in the project schedule. Once IT teams have taken advantage of the free and low-cost training resources, then they can move on to seeking out some more technical training. Later in the IPv6 project schedule, teams should be provided with hands-on instructor-led IPv6 training closer to the actual implementation. The thinking here is to have the engineers arrive at the hands-on classes with some prior knowledge of IPv6 to maximize their comprehension during the live training. We also don’t want the engineers to forget what they learned in class by the time they need to put the knowledge into practice with actual IPv6 testing and deployment activities. This is the strategy that was detailed in “Building an IPv6 Training Plan”.
This article provides a list of the free and low-cost IPv6 training resources that companies can utilize early in the IPv6 training schedule. There are many online training companies that provide some low-cost IPv6 training classes. This section of this document contains a list of the more popular and higher quality free and low-cost IPv6 training classes available to get teams started.
Wikipedia IPv6 Page
Wikipedia is a great way to learn any topic and the page on IPv6 compiles many pages on the basics of the protocol. This is a free resource that teams can review at their leisure to begin their journey. IT team members can surf through this page and explore the related topics such as addressing, neighbor discovery, transition mechanisms, and find links to IETF RFCs.
IPv6 Fundamentals Book by Rick Graziani
Rick Graziani is the author of the book titled “IPv6 Fundamentals: A Straightforward Approach to Understanding IPv6”, 2nd Edition, published by Cisco Press. Rick is a fantastic teacher and writer and effectively communicates these technical details of the protocol with an easy-to-understand approach. Even though Rick’s book is published by Cisco Press, it doesn’t just contain Cisco examples, but is great vendor-independent foundational information on the protocol itself.
Rick has also recorded a series of YouTube videos that compliment his IPv6 training materials. Rick has also created a Safari Online video series on IPv6 Fundamentals LiveLessons that compliments his great book.
Wendell Odom’s IPv6 Training
Wendell Odom (CCIE #1624 Emeritus) has been training countless network engineers for decades and has written numerous books on Cisco certifications. As Cisco has incorporated more IPv6 topics into their certification program, Wendell has adapted to this change and has provided more IPv6 training over the recent decade and in the future. Wendell’s certification guidance can be found at his certskills.com website.
Wendell Odom’s Network Upskill YouTube channel has a wealth of great information, and he has produced many videos on IPv6. Here is a list of his videos on the topics of IPv6 addressing, configuration, neighbor discovery, and routing.
Cisco Learning Network: IPv6 Training Videos for CCNA R&S with Wendell Odom
What Makes Your IPv6 Address Unique in the Universe / (Vol 1 Ch 26 Sec 1)
Practice Right Now! Learn IPv6 GUA Concepts Using Basic Config / (Vol 1 Ch 26 Sec 1)
IPv6 Address Configuration Made Easy on Cisco / (Vol 1 Ch 27 Sec 1)
Config Lab Intro: IPv6 EUI-64 Addressing 1 / (Vol 1 Ch 27 Sec 1)
Config Lab Review: IPv6 Unicast Addresses w/ EUI-64 / (Vol 1 Ch 27 Sec 1)
CCNA Interview Review: Role of NDP, Before and After a Ping / (Vol 1 Ch 28 Sec 1)
IPv6 Neighbor Discovery: ARP Replacement for the 21st Century / (Vol 1 Ch 28 Sec 1a)
How Hosts Learn Routes with IPv6: NDP / (Vol 1 Ch 28 Sec 1b)
IPv6 Routes, Step 1: Connected Routes / (Vol 1 Ch 29 Sec 1)
Practice Right Now! IPv6 Connected and Local Routes / (Vol 1 Ch 29 Sec 1)
IPv6 Zero to Hero by Orhan Ergun
Orhan Ergun (CCIE # 26567 and CCDE #20140017) has also been teaching networking for decades. He has been guiding others to achieve their CCIE and CCDE certifications and providing his training courses through his website https://orhanergun.net/.
Orhan has created his IPv6 Zero to Hero Course that starts from the introduction to the protocol, addressing, routing, and other topics. Orhan’s classes are reasonably priced, can be purchased individually, or you can purchase a comprehensive learning plan subscription.
Ivan Pepelnjak’s IPv6 Videos
Ivan Pepelnjak, CCIE#1354 Emeritus, has been a computer network protocol expert for decades. He has written books and articles on protocols, including IPv6, and publishes these on his ipSpace.net website. Ivan has arranged his IPv6 teachings and guidance into an IPv6 learning roadmap. He has now made much of his IPv6 content freely available. You can now access his IPv6 training for free, or you can register for a subscription to access his other training content.
Regional Internet Registry IPv6 Learning Resources
There is IPv6 training available from the five Regional Internet Registries (RIRs). The RIRs provide these training classes online and virtually for free to help their members learn about IPv6 and progress toward getting their addresses and deploying the protocol.
RIPE NCC
RIPE NCC (formerly known as Reseaux IP Europeens Network Coordination Centre) offers free IPv6 classes, but you must first enroll on their website.
This page lists the complete set of RIPE NCC Training Course Material, and this page shows their free IPv6 training resources. Here is a list of their three primary IPv6 classes.
RIPE NCC IPv6 Fundamentals Training Course
RIPE NCC Advanced IPv6 Training Course
RIPE NCC IPv6 Security Training Course
Desktop support, helpdesk, and service-desk teams urgently need IPv6 training because remote workers are already using IPv6 and could be experiencing issues. Companies need to provide support teams with knowledge and procedures to identify and resolve IPv6-related issues end-users may be experiencing today. For example, helpdesk teams can leverage this troubleshooting website and refer to the “helpdesk code” shown, along with the RIPE NCC document #631 to help them solve IPv6-related problems end-users are experiencing.
AFRINIC
African Network Information Center (AFRINIC) offers a variety of free learning classes on their website.
AFRINIC offers their Zero to Certified IPv6 Engineer training program for free. Just join the Waiting List on their website.
AFRINIC delivers their IPv6 workshops that provide foundational information and include some hands-on lab exercises. Mukom Akong Tamon has been the driving force behind IPv6 training on the African continent. He has personally delivered hundreds of IPv6 training classes to thousands of individuals.
LACNIC
Latin American and Caribbean Internet Addresses Registry (LACNIC) also offers a couple of freely available LACNIC Campus IPv6 online classes.
APNIC
The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) has a variety of freely available IPv6 learning resources. These are available through their APNIC Academy website and they have a list of their online courses. Here are a few of their free IPv6 classes.
APNIC also offers a variety of virtual lab classes that can provide you some hands-on experience with IPv6.
ARIN
The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) provides a variety of topics as web seminars. ARIN offers their free IPv6 Address Planning Basics on-demand class. ARIN also has many IPv6-related blogs on their site. Topics include everything from building a business case for IPv6, address planning, and case studies.
LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn has been using IPv6 in their data center networks and their public-facing services for many years and back in 2017 they passed the 50% IPv6 traffic milestone. You can view their IPv6 traffic usage on their IPv6 statistics page.
There are several IPv6 classes available on that platform.
Introduction to Network Routing - IPv6 structure
Networking Foundations: IP Addressing - IPv6 addresses
Networking Foundations: Networking Basics - IP version 6 addresses
Pluralsight
Pluralsight has been providing online video training classes since 2007 and they have several IPv6-related classes that can be accessed at reasonable prices. Here is a list of some of their more popular IPv6 classes.
Cisco Enterprise Networks: Troubleshooting OSPF and EIGRP for IPv6
Securely Transitioning Enterprise Networks to IPv6
Designing Cisco Enterprise Networks: IPv4 and IPv6 Addressing Design
Udemy
Udemy offers many IT training classes at very modest prices. They have a handful of IPv6 classes that you can purchase at very reasonable prices. The “IPv6 Internetworking Masterclass - Beginner to Advanced” class syllabus seems like the most comprehensive IPv6 class in their catalog.
CBT Nuggets
CBT Nuggets offers many online IT training videos on a wide variety of topics and CBT Nuggets even offers some IPv6 classes. Here is a list of the IPv6 classes available on that platform.
TCP/IP IPv6 Online Training – 24 hours
IPv6 Fundamentals – 12 minutes
Troubleshoot IPv4 and IPv6 DHCP – 50 minutes
Free IPv6 Certification Exams
Once you have obtained some initial IPv6 knowledge and skills then you might consider taking the Bronze-level Hogg Networking IPv6 certification exam. Threse are free, online, and open-book exams that confirm your comprehension after taking an IPv6 training class. These exams are the industry’s most current exams that validate your knowledge of IPv6.
There are three different IPv6 certifications you can take. The bronze exam is introductory and tests basic knowledge of the protocol and addressing. The silver exam is more difficult and requires intermediate knowledge and some experience deploying IPv6. The gold exam is meant to be extremely difficult and is intended for the IPv6 industry expert. Passing these exams shows others that you have a solid understanding of IPv6. These exams are meant to be fun and challenging.
Many Other IPv6 Training Resources
Of course, there are many other sources of low-cost or no-cost IPv6 training and learning resources. If you know of others that I forgot to mention, please share them with me (info@hoggnet.com) and I’ll work to add them to the list.
