The current Internet Protocol, which is primarily based on IPv4 (IP version 4) has had rapid growth both when it comes to the number of IP enabled devices and when it comes to applications and services. IPv4 suffers from major weaknesses when it comes to dealing with the rapid growth in the number of devices connected to the Internet and the new applications and services. This has resulted in the standardization of a new version of Internet Protocol, IPv6 (IP version 6), to cope with the shortcomings of IPv4.
One of the main weaknesses of IPv4 is the number of IP addresses available globally. The IPv4 address consists of 32 bits, meaning that there are about 4 billion addresses available. On the one hand, it is obvious that 4 billion addresses are not enough in a world where more and more devices and terminals become IP enabled. On the other hand, even the current addresses available are allocated so unevenly that many of the developing countries lack IP addresses to develop their ICT infrastructures. For example, according to a consultation paper on ‘issues relating to transition from IPv4 to IPv6 in India'[1]: ‘India has merely 2.8 million IPv4 addresses compared to 40 million acquired by China’. Here it is important to note that any common US university has more IP addresses than the total of India, and that a US ISP, Level-3, alone has more IP addresses than China. The distribution is much worse when it comes to the least developed countries; for example, Bangladesh has about 150,000 IP addresses.
IPv6 extends the address room to 128 bits, meaning that the number of IP addresses will not be any problem in the foreseeable future. This allows for the allocation of more addresses to different countries and regions. The allocation of IPv6 addresses can be done more evenly, as it does not suffer from the historical matters that resulted in the uneven allocation of IPv4 address room. In future development, where we are surrounded by the ‘Internet of Things'[2], there will be an even greater need for IP addresses.
The other issues that are dealt with in IPv6 are the QoS and security issues. QoS is important in relation to real time services, and security at IP level will generally be required by a number of services in the future.
ENDNOTES
[1] TRAI: Consultation paper no. – 8/2005, TRAI, ‘issues relating to transition from IPv4 to IPv6 in India, August 26, 2005.
[2] See amongst others the ITU Internet report 2005: the Internet of Things.