If you use 6to4, you can reinstall end-to-end connectivity that you lost because of NAT.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

"There's a lot of support for 6to4, " says co-author Moore, who works for the University of Tennessee.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

Without 6to4, network professionals would have to manually configure these tunnels, which would be difficult and time- consuming.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

The 6to4 protocol also helps resolve some of the application problems that net managers run into with NAT devices.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

With 6to4, network managers can assign IPv6 addresses to all of their users and devices that access the Internet.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

For example, the IP Security protocol, which doesn't work well through NAT devices, will work fine with 6to4, proponents say.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

At the IETF's 46th meeting held here last week, the 6to4 protocol garnered much attention as one solution to the chicken-and-egg problem of IPv6 migration.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

The protocol, which resides on a router at the edge of an IPv6 network, assigns a prefix to each IPv6 address to identify it as a 6to4 address.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

The 6to4 protocol is the latest in a series of tools being developed by the IETF to aid in the transition of the 'Net from IPv4 to IPv6.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net

Part of the reason for 6to4's high profile is that its authors are two IETF heavyweights: Brian Carpenter, head of the Internet Architecture Board, and Applications Area Director Keith Moore.

CNN: New protocol sneaks IPv6 traffic over the 'Net