Growing Into IPv6

Is the Internet running out of room? That's a crucial question for the wireless industry, particularly as a new generation of Web-enabled devices puts a growing strain on the addressing capabilities of the current IP version 4 (IPv4).

The IP address squeeze holds particular importance for carriers because mobile Internet applications literally will require millions of new addresses in the coming years.

Since its inception in the research networks of the 1970s, IP has been applied as the primary means of managing a massive and growing array of client-server and peer-to-peer communications. But with the emergence of a true mobile information society, IPv4 is feeling the strain of a busier and more crowded Internet.

Although desktop PCs currently account for the majority of Internet-connected devices, it's estimated that by 2003, Web-enabled wireless phones will outnumber computer connections. By 2005, mobile Internet services could generate 60% of total wireless-carrier revenues.

As the world goes mobile, the need for IP addresses will be accelerated further by the introduction of Web-enabled PDAs, cars, televisions, cameras, home security systems and other fixed and on-the-go technologies. Estimates vary, but IETF forecasts that the reservoir of 32-bit IP addresses provided by IPv4 will be depleted by 2010. So the question is not if, but when and how to fix the challenge of IP address capacity.

Attempts now are under way to use network address translation (NAT) to expand the addressing capabilities of IPv4. However, NAT itself poses a number of substantial difficulties. To begin with, NAT is not a particularly scaleable solution. Given that some large networks soon may serve from 50 to 100 million IP-enabled devices, NAT-based reuse strategies simply may not work.

NAT also introduces a potential single point of failure into the network. Should a NAT box fail for any reason, all of the sessions passing through that element would be lost, posing a significant problem for carriers and end users. In certain applications, the NAT operation itself may cause a packet to be changed or an IP address to be lost. Address translation also may result in higher network capital and operational costs.

In fact, neither network-address leasing nor translation are particularly well-suited to the IP telephony, mobile IP and push applications that will define the coming mobile information society. So what is the alternative?

Fortunately, the emergence of a new IP — IPv6 — solves many of the inherent weaknesses of the current IPv4 regime. IPv6 is standardized by the IETF and now is ready for use. In fact, a number of IPv6 products and applications already are available on the open market. As a functional and durable solution, IPv6 offers a number of notable benefits.

For starters, IPv6 solves the Internet scaleability challenge. By delivering a 128-bit address format, IPv6 delivers sufficient capacity for an estimated 340 undecillion — enough to award one to every grain of sand on the planet.

IPv6 improves Web security through the use of built-in packet-encryption and sender-authentication protections. Plug-and-play is standard in IPv6, which simplifies the needed configurations between networks and mobile Internet devices. This next-generation protocol may also deliver improvements in routing speeds, quality of service and operational cost efficiencies.

Best of all, because this new protocol extends and enhances the current standard, IPv6 offers a clear and efficient migratory pathway to a larger and more robust Internet landscape. In fact, by taking an evolutionary approach to the introduction of IPv6, network carriers can retain the advantages of IPv4 services while moving toward the more scaleable efficiencies of version 6.

There's no real controversy about the inevitability of IPv6; although, some industry observers argue that IPv4 can be extended for a time through the use of NAT and further application development. But why waste time and money trying to fix the limitations of a flawed protocol when an alternative is on the way?

By moving forward with a measured, evolutionary deployment of IPv6, we can begin to create and deploy real benefits for carriers, application vendors and Internet end users.

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Suomela is Nokia Mobile Phones technology manager for Internet protocols.

Look for the Dec. 15 3G Insights, which will discuss the basic strategies and phases needed to ensure a smooth evolutionary transition from IPv4 to IPv6.