IPv6, the next-generation IP protocol

The IP protocol was born with the first American research networks in the 1970s. But it wasn't until 1993, with the appearance of the first MOSAIC browser - the university forerunner of Netscape and Explorer - that it became widely used. IP version 4 (IPv4) has since been adopted by all computer manufacturers as the universal network-level protocol.

Widespread with client/server architectures, IP is now being used for all communications. IP is becoming the network protocol for transferring voice and video in addition to data. Alongside client/server ("pull") architectures, peer-to-peer ("peer") and push ("push") architectures are becoming more widespread.

Even if it continues to evolve, IPv4 cannot meet the many new needs. In any case, the limits of its address space make it impossible to interconnect the billions of devices (computers, telephones, PDAs, televisions...) that will make up tomorrow's Internet! That's why the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) has drawn up a set of new standards to guarantee the growth and evolution of the Internet. IPv6, version 6 of the protocol, is the keystone.

The deployment of IPv6 is inevitable, and all players in the network sector (equipment manufacturers, service providers, software publishers, etc.) must prepare for it. IPv6 products are now on the market, and the first deployments are underway.

IPv6 was designed to provide the Internet with the means to develop in terms of addressing capacity, but also to take into account all the new needs in terms of communications: mobility of players, security and quality of transfers, ease of use, independence of means of transmission and types of terminal used.

In this article, we review the technical advantages of this protocol, which is a significant evolution of IPv4. It represents a break with the initial protocol, since IPv6 must be introduced in all network equipment. IPv6 allows us to return to the operating principles that made IP such a success, but in addition to virtually unlimited addressing, it offers engineering possibilities that will enable us to keep pace with future network developments.

A major concern of the IETF throughout the development of IPv6 has been to preserve the benefits of IPv4, and of course to provide solutions that enable the two versions of the protocol to coexist. The successful deployment of IPv6 in existing network infrastructures depends in particular on the choice of technical solutions offered by manufacturers of routers, hardware and software to guarantee continuity of use of the current version.

Finally, it's important to emphasize the strategic issues involved in deploying IPv6.

IPv6 is...