The China Next Generation Internet project, formed to promote IPv6 throughout China, will be using Juniper Networks' (JNPR) M- and T-series routing platforms.

Juniper Networks platforms will be deployed in the China Next Generation Internet's (CNGI) participating networks, including the China Education and Research Network (CERNET2), China Mobile, China Netcom, China Railcom, China Telecom and China Unicom.

The CNGI project was launched in 2003 by China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and its charter is to create a next-generation national IPv6 backbone covering 20 cities and 39 massive network points of presence (GigaPOPs) to provide pervasive advanced IP services.

IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol, and improves on the current version by greatly multiplying the number of IP addresses to accommodate the growing number of networked devices, users and applications with built-in security mechanisms.

Once deployed, the Juniper Networks platforms will provide a test bed for Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) and enable the service providers to offer a wide variety of advanced IPv6-based services in the near future.

These services include Virtual Private Networking (VPN), high-quality IP voice and video streaming, as well as third-generation (3G) mobile applications. The M- and T-series platforms will also provide interoperability with networks based on the current version Internet Protocol, IPv4, by using advanced IPv4-to-IPv6 interworking features supported by the industry-leading JUNOS operating system.

These JUNOS features will also enable CNGI to facilitate the seamless transition of IPv4 networks to IPv6 as the networks expand to support the growing needs of businesses, government, institutions, and individuals in the dynamic Chinese economy.