IPv6: The Promise, The Problems, The Protocol

For some time now there has been a great deal of talk -- and even some action -- about the next-generation version of TCP/IP, named IPv6. It's been a long time coming, and for good reason. In fact, its time is more or less about ripe.

When the Internet and its attendant protocols were devised, no one ever imagined it would become as huge, as successful, or as widely-utilized as it is today. And the existing version of TCP/IP -- IPv4 -- is showing its age. Its design limitations are quite apparent; it's insecure; and many of the features that people are demanding of it now, such as multicasting, require a re-engineering from the ground up to be feasible.

Like another standard that's only just now being put to use by consumers, HDTV, IPv6 has accrued a reputation for always being "almost there," but never actually there in the flesh. The truth is that IPv6 is alive, well, in use, and ready for deployment in many circumstances. That said, it'll still be a while before IPv6 eclipses IPv4. Several stumbling blocks stand in the way, not the least of which is OS- and application-level support.

Note that IPv6 is not synonymous with the Internet2 Project, although Internet2 does use IPv6 as its protocol of choice. Internet2 is one implementation of IPv6, but by no means the only one. The main proving ground for IPv6 is most likely to be the Internet we have now.

News source: ExtremeTech