Muscat: Due to the continuous rapid growth in the number of devices connected to the Internet, and the shortage of IPv4 addressing protocol, universities and colleges will face challenges in providing their services to students and researchers over the Internet using IPv4 addressing. The World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) and the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC) have recently issued decisions related to addressing the issue of the IP protocol, stressing the need to build local capacities related to publishing IPv6 addresses. Consequently, institutions started the transformation from IPv4 to IPv6, as an international response to those challenges.

Coping with these international efforts, Oman Research and Education Network (OMREN), a national nonprofit project initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI) launched the IPv6 service and urged its affiliated institutions to activate this service.

OMREN, along with the regional Internet registry (RIR) for Europe, West Asia, and the former USSR (RIPE NCC) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) will align their efforts and arrange multiple online workshops for the technical staff and specialists to support and encourage them in activating the IPv6 for OMREN community from now onward.

Many of OMREN members who are 50 universities and colleges, agreed to take immediate actions towards this critical move. The Middle East College is the first OMREN member to achieve the target and activate this service at their network, thanks to their IT team for always trying to be ahead and leading in progress. The college implemented the IPv6 in continuation of its ongoing efforts to enhance the students’ educational experience and empower the teaching and learning process. IPv6 will allow the college to secure an unlimited number of devices over the internet, which will enhance the students’ online learning experience.

“We are extremely proud to be the first OMREN member to have successfully implemented IPV6 on our network infrastructure. I’d like to thank OMREN and Omantel for their support and assistance in making this possible. This is an important step ahead for us in enhancing the support offered to our students and staff in their activities of teaching, learning, research and innovation. We’d also upgraded our core technology infrastructure recently, doubling the server and storage capacity to facilitate virtual teaching and learning and encourage online collaboration,” Dean of the Middle East College said.

OMREN is an Initiative by MoHERI to connect and support the research and education community in the Sultanate of Oman. It also seeks to provide this community with a collaboration infrastructure adapted to their needs, through the collaborations with the international Research and Education communities. –ONA