The UW is now positioned to use the next generation of Internet networking technology—Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)—after completion by UW-IT of a core network upgrade. IPv6 brings almost unlimited addresses, as well as other configuration and security improvements, and most modern operating systems and applications support IPv6 transparently. IPv4, the current protocol, will not be going away, and the two will run concurrently into the foreseeable future. IPv6 adoption is not mandatory; a request to UW-IT for subnet activation can be submitted by a unit’s IT support person.