IPV6: Theory, Protocol, and Practice - Report Example

IPv-6: Internet is the world’s largest public data network and is ever expending. With constant increase in the world of internet communications and traffic, a version of internet protocol is needed that can fulfill the requirements of modern times. Higher security, more address space, extra features, are the demand of the day.IPv6 is a step in this direction and aims at facilitating the entire internet world communications. IP standard was standardized in 1980s and IP version 4 dominated the last two decades. By end of the century the need was felt was introducing a new version on commercial scale that could facilitate the larger network setup since 2/3rd of entire network addresses were occupied and hence improvements were demanded. The current version could hold around four billion connections and since in last few years the technological advancements have brought about more devices and connections all over, for this reason IPv6 was worked out in last few years. Internet Engineering Task Force (I.E.T.F) is the entity that defines new protocol standards and hence is responsible for ensuring the new version fulfils the demands by equipping the new version with all the essentials. While the previous version was brought into practical use, little or no consideration was given to the space, and security, and it was believed that around 4 billion address spaces would be sufficient for generations, however with time those addresses ran short, and security became a more serious issue with all types of malwares, and other insurgent forces that came to the world of internet communication.(Kahng et al 2004) The need for a larger network system was felt due to the depletion of I.P address spaces and since about 2 billion people across the globe use internet in form of tablets, p.d.a ,smart phones, internet is part of every cafe, airport, office, educational institute , for this purpose a network was needed that could accommodate large number of upcoming connections. IP v4 provided a 32 bit address space.IPv6 users are likely to have faster connectivity. It is gaining popularity with time and need is being felt in Asia and Europe for its implementation on full scale.(Mun,young Song et al, 2005) .Internet protocol version 6 is a network layer protocol of the O.S.I model; it is termed as the next generation internet protocol, which is a new version of I.P, successor to IPv4.The main aim has been to bring about improvement and advancements in the existing version. The overall design is an improved one. The large address space (128 bits) can accommodate many more number of networks, users and devices. The addresses are arranged in eight groups of four hexadecimal digits that are separated by colons. The address types are either unicast which uniquely identifies an interface on IPV6 node, while a multicast is for identifying group of interfaces and Anycast is assigned to multiple interfaces on multiple hosts (Eastep et al 2009), further there are three classes of unicast interfaces that includes link local, site local and global.6 to 4 is another technical term associated with the entire concept which enables the packet transmission of IPv6 to a version 4 network. The 6 to 4 feature allows testing and experimenting the IPV6, even if the version is not provided by the Internet service provider. Global unicast network is dedicated for the 6to4 mechanism. Gateways creates interface between the two. Salient Features of IPV-6 Large address space Stateless auto configuration Quality of service capabilities Improved Security Streamlined Protocol header Mobility IPV6 is packed with large number of improvements which includes large addressing space, and hence accommodation of more users on the network, this is followed by mobility, which enables tablets, and other handheld devices to be connected even when on the go. A salient feature of the new version is its increased security. IPSec a security protocol is made mandatory in this version while it was only optional in case of its predecessor. Hence it makes it more secure and safe than the ipv4.It eliminates the use of NAT devices, in presence of NAT, security is hard to maintain, and since the new version does not make use of NAT, this issue is eliminated as well. Improvements in the header file is another feature this has been achieved by restricting the header file options and removing redundant elements which results in fast processing, finally Multiple ways of configuring network interfaces are introduced. Other features include simplification of address assignment and router. The auto configuration feature enables independence from Address Resolution protocol (A.R.P). There are couple of reasons for removal of NAT from version 6, one of the reasons is the complexity attached to it, and secondly the most important one ,is the security, since NAT allowed attackers to operate from different unknown locations without being traced and identified directly, it posed a threat to entire network and served as a safe house for hackers.IPV6 has worked on it and has eliminated network address translation .NAT further complicates the trouble shooting process. With large amount of addresses spaces available, there is no need for address translation. On technical front ,many improvements and changes are in offing in the current version, the first and foremost is the modification of its packet header by changing the packet format, the header checksum option is eliminated, and fragmentation option is also no more in the intermediate nodes. Header Format IPV4 IPv6 Header 20 bytes 40 bytes Source Address 32 bits 128 bits Destination Address 32 bits 128 bits The common users and networks will need to implement this protocol; parts of the world have totally embraced IPV6, while others are making progress of its deployment and commercial use. However it can be debated that, despite being around for more than a decade, it hasn’t been in practice and use to the extent it should have been. Though it is a known fact that sooner or later, entire transmission would shift to version 6, due to the already suffocated network of version 4.Nearly all operating systems that are available on machines have IPV6 option available on them. Access layer is double stacked which enables operating systems to activation of IPV6 easily. Comparison chart between IPV4 & IPV6 IP Service IPV4 IPV6 Addressing Range Mobility Security Auto configuration IP Multicast Q.O.S 32 bit, NAT Mobile IP IPSec(optional) DHCP IGMP/BGP/PIM Differentiated Service, Integrated Service 128 bit, Multiple scope Mobile IP with Direct Routing IPSec ( mandatory) Server less Configuration, DHCP MLD/PIM/Scope Identifier Differentiated Service, Integrated Service Critical analysis is important in this regard and few believe that other than the depletion factor of previous version, the new version doesn’t provide anything concrete; to be precise the ordinary users might not even realize the change from previous version to the new one. Another thought about the new trend is the fact that the softwares introduced for this technology are not tested in the field; therefore doubts can be raised over its potential in the bigger arena. Spoofing, header manipulations, buffer overflows, malwares, are all equal threats even for the newer version. Others might debate that the incumbent technology lacks a comparative business incentive to drive the enterprises and business giants towards it; however with the limit being reached in IPV4, version 6 is to rule the world of internet communications in years to come and it is being termed as the next big thing in the field of Internet communications. Linux, Microsoft Windows7, Solaris, Microsoft Windows server, all have IPV6 functionality available in them. Bibliography: Kahng, Hyun-Kook, and Shigeki Goto. Information Networking: Networking Technologies for Broadband and Mobile Networks : International Conference Icoin 2004, Busan, Korea, February 18-20, 2004 : Revised Selected Papers. Berlin: Springer, 2004. Print. Mun, Youngsong, and Hyewon K. Lee. Understanding Ipv6. New York: Springer, 2005. Internet resource. Eastep, Tom. "Introduction to IPV6." (April 25,26 2009): 35. Loshin, Peter, and Peter Loshin. Ipv6: Theory, Protocol, and Practice. Amsterdam: Morgan Kaufmann, 2004. Internet resource. Blanchet, Marc. Migrating to Ipv6: A Practical Guide to Implementing Ipv6 in Mobile and Fixed Networks. Chichester, England: J. Wiley & Sons, 2006. Print. Read More