Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION

1.  INTRODUCTION

1. Internet Protocol version 4,is one of standard internetwork-layer protocol used and the first version of the protocol to be widely deployed on the Internet. Going through the history during the early 1990s, it was clear that IPv4 was not a long-term protocol. Its design did not anticipate a number of requirements that turned out to be crucial. Such requirements not only pertained to the proliferation of devices, but also the need for additional security, simpler configuration and better prioritization of some services, such as real-time services (often referred to as Quality of Service issues). [1]

           The deployment of a new architecture becomes a need as well as a necessity. The transition to IPv6 holds the future of the internet infrastructure. IPv6, the protocol which is a robust technology designed as a successor to IP version 4 (IPv4), the predominant protocol in use today. The changes from IPv4 to IPv6 are primarily in the areas of expanded addressing capabilities; header format simplification; improved support for extensions and options; flow labeling capability; and consolidated authentication and privacy capabilities.

The kind of communication that will be enabled by the advent of IPv6 will be particularly useful in the embedded systems arena, as millions of new devices take advantage of Internet connectivity. Although IPv6 has been around for several years, there continues to be a debate about its value. But there are many ways in which IPv4 is not working, and there are good amount of reasons why the migration to IPv6 is not only desirable, but necessary. Some of the areas include increased address space, internet Security, Quality of Service, auto configuration, wireless WIMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). The list are endless. One of the important aspects of implementation of IPv6 is that it will remove any concern about the limitation of IP addresses. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, versus the 32-bit addresses used by IPv4. Compared to the total possible number of IPv4 addresses, 4.29 billion, IPv6 provides nearly 600 quadrillion addresses for every square millimeter on earth. That’s 6×1023 addresses for every square meter of the earth’s surface. When each device has its own unique global IP address and Network Address Translation is no longer necessary, peer-to-peer communication will become much easier. [2] Two devices will be able to establish direct communication without the need to translate between global and private addresses. Two-way applications such as IP telephony and video conferencing will be much simpler to develop. Routing tables will become far less complex, which will enable higher performance for Internet traffic and more bandwidth for additional communication. Although IPv6 age has not yet completely materialized, but the hard work behind it has started paying off. It’s now showing up in more and more places. Before now, we were accustomed to connecting desktops to the Internet, but with IPv6, we will see embedded systems taking advantage of the Internet in innovative ways. By removing the limitation of IP addresses, IPv6 will enable a large number of devices and applications to benefit from the Internet. Many embedded systems will now have their own IP addresses, thus eliminating the need for Network Address Translation. This will enable direct peer-to-peer communication, unprecedented security with IPsec, Quality of Service, seamless connectivity and auto configuration. These developments would take the future of IPv6 and the internet beyond the boundaries.

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