INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 [IPV6]

INTRODUCTION:

The paper discusses on the up coming trends and the technologies used in the Internet World. It will explore the topic on IPV6 i.e. Internet Protocol Version 6.

We say Internet Protocol Version 6 but what is this Protocol stuff; get familiarized with what is Protocols first and then we start with the in-depth study of IPV6. Like its previous versions IPV6 is all set to make waves in the Internet World. Here we will see what IPV6 is, why IPV6 is selected and why we need IPV6.The paper justifies what are the problems of the current IP we are using and how it is wearing out with time and increase in number of users.

 In addition this will explore a bit of the history of the Internet Protocols and the forums, which are anticipating and sparing their attentions to these development. It covers the description of all the rules used for the addressing methods in Ipv6. Included here is also the compatibility of the Ipv4 address with that of Ipv6. How an Ipv6 address can be converted in to the present Ipv4 address to identify the node is also covered.

This will give a brief idea on some of the key features of IPV6 where it discusses IPV6 as a re-engineering effort against IP technology. Features includes firstly Larger IP address and it use for end-to-end communication. Deploy more technologies the future prospects and covers within it Auto Configuration describes and stateless host like mandatory facilities, Security tells about this mandatory feature, friendliness to traffic technologies describes about the compatibleness of Ipv6 with future technologies. Then it continues with multicast becoming mandatory, better support to ad-hoc feature facilitating anycast, it also a cure to routing tables, it specifies the simpler header structure, allows flexible protocol extensions which provides hardware acceleration, smooth transition form Ipv4 showing its compatibility with Ipv4, follows key design principles of Ipv4 justifies its proper structure. 

Then it describes about some of the Objectives of this Protocol. Included will be a detailed look on the addressing scheme and the notation for the Protocols address.

Before we get to anything else we need to learn the most important and the only working part of any Protocol used. The Header, which bears all the working and the terminology along with the characteristics of the Protocol, will be covered next. Different layers that are present in the Header Format of the Protocol are discussed with their description and functionalities. The first in the topic comes Version, Class, Flow label covering the first set of 32 bits. The next comes Payload Length, Next Header and Hop Limit that also covers 32 bits of the Header space. The next is the mandatory and inevitable source address of 128 bits. At the last of the Header comes the Destination Header of 128 bits.

Covered next is the difference between the header schemes of the IPV4 the currently used Protocol Vs IPV6 the up-coming sensation in the Internet World. The topic presents all the basic differences between the two headers and also clarifies which one is simpler. It also shows how the avoidable things in the present header are removed in Ipv6.

Then a brief look at what is Extension Header and its use. Here will be the discussion of Ipv6 Extension Header including TCP Header, Routing Header, Fragment Header and others. There will be need to discuss all the types of Extension Headers needed for transmission or implementations of Ipv6. The issues related to the size of packets for transmission using Ipv6 are then described.

Security being one of the important features the Authentication Header is then explained in the topic and how this is used to prevent users from Internet Spoofing. Then there is description of Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) header and how it helps in Confidentiality and Authentication. Then of course the problems faced by the IPv6 Security Features.

The world is going mobile and thus the mobile communication draws a deep attention for its Internet Development. There is a brief description about the Mobile IP and its functionalities that are very different from our Internet. The functionalities differ because we use processes such as Tunneling, Registration and Agent Discovery for the change of subnet by any IP holder for the Home Network. There is a description of how Ipv4 is used for Mobile Communication and how can the features of Ipv6 aid to this technology or how is Ipv6 better than Ipv4 in Mobile Communication. Then there will be description of Mobile Ipv4 and Mobile Ipv6 used for roaming node in the network. Protocols are not limited to the type of technology used for transmission and thus there is coverage of the Protocol as a service to GPRS and WCDMA Mobile Networks.

Then the topic covers the Ipv6 mobility in the 2G and 3G networks in the Mobile Networks. There is adaptability and thus there is a need to convert our data from IPV6 networks to the Ipv4 networks. And hence there is a description of the 6to4 migration. How this conversion takes place and what are the benefits of the conversion are covered in detail. Then this tells about Ipv6’s support to 3G networks the only known IP to be capable to do this. Then next in the Mobile Connections comes the tunneling of Ipv6 over Ipv4. The process is tedious for our traditional Ipv4 networks and holds a lot of importance as far as communication from different places for a single user or can be said as roaming in our mobile devices is concerned. There is coverage of Ipv6 in the Mobile Packet Networks. The size of Packets in the Mobile Networks and their scheduling and switching holds importance for communication purposes and thus covered in the topic.

Well you are using it then you should be aware of what are the advantages of the thing and thus here it covers the Advantages of IPV6 over IPV4. The description of the core differences between the present protocol Ipv4 and the future protocol Ipv6 such as scalability, security, realtimeness, Plug and Play, Clear specification and optimizations are given a look around. 

There are two sides of each coin and thus this will cover the dark sides of this Protocol in brief, which will include incompatibility-which is the alternativeness of the Ipv6 address inspite of it being an extension to our conventional Ipv4, incoherence-which is the designers don’t have a transition plan and the Ipv6 addresses cannot work as well as the Ipv4 addresses and distractions-that is the Ipv6 addresses cannot be generalized or be made public, they cannot be applied for talking to all the same cities as that of Ipv4 addresses are being applied.

The future of the Industry cannot be changed by a single Protocol all along itself and it needs some other technologies to accompany it and change the trends and traditions. One such friend of Ipv6 is Internet2, which is discussed in detail. What is Internet2 and how it is different from the present Internet? Also the use of Internet2 and Ipv6 together is discussed. The process of Symbiosis between these two and the benefits with their use are briefly aggregated. The connectivity between the Internet2 and IPV6 will be covered

The next of the friendly hand is the QoS or the Quality Of Service, which covers the Quality with which this data is transmitted over the network. Learn the facilities of the present IP with this feature and the flaws in it. Also this shows the prospects and the facilities provided for the Quality to the end-user of the data services. These include the services as that of the Satellite Communication for data transmission.

The paper briefly discusses about the technical giants in the industry looking forward to use the technology. The Asian giants like India, Japan, and China already looking forward to clutch the technology in their hands and get on the top of the market with it. Their latest interests in the technology and researches in the area are described. The reasons behind using the technique and the need for Ipv6 to these countries are mentioned.

Then the actual or the practical implementation of this system is not very easy. We are talking about re-connecting the entire globe which already took decades for Ipv4 to establish it reign on. IPv6 poses some daunting questions for net managers which are considered as the biggest hurdles in the ways of Ipv6’s reign over he market.. For instance, what’s the best way to make the transition while maintaining backward compatibility with all those systems still running IPv4? What about renumbering networks not to mention buying, installing, and configuring all of that new IP software?

Then at last we end our discussion specifying the future prospects and implementations and the time left for the industrial establishment of the technology. The future developments and the area of improvements still needed till it gets fully generalized. It requires a huge time to remove or change any of the conventional protocols. It requires some of the help from other technologies such as Internet2 to completely overcome all the flaws in it.

IPV6 ADVANTAGES OVER IPV4: