Presentation given by Fakrul Alam, Senior Training Officer at APNIC, during Pacific Days 2016, held in Vanuatu from 17 to 18 May 2016

1. Issue Date:
Revision:
IPv6: The Future Of the
Internet
Fakrul Alam
Senior Training Officer
APNIC
ICT Days Pacific 2016, 18 May 2015
[18-05-2016]
[1.0]

2. Past
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4 Nodes in 1969 (ARPANET) 19 Nodes in 1971

3. Present
• There are 3.26 billion Internet users as at December 2015;
that’s over 40% of the world’s population
• Asia, as a continent, has the most Internet users. It
accounts for 48.4% of global Internet users
• By 2017, there will be more Internet traffic than all prior
Internet years combined
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4. "It's enough to do an experiment. The
problem is the experiment never
ended”
- Vint Cerf
(comments of 32 bit IPv4 addressing)
4

5. 5
Internet Protocol Version 6

6. Background
• The Internet has become a fundamental infrastructure,
worldwide, for economic and social activity, and its usage
continues to grow exponentially:
– More users
– New applications (e.g. mobile, Internet of Things (IoT) etc.)
• The transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is the only sustainable
option in the long run
• A smooth transition requires understanding the challenges
and a timely start
6

7. IPv4 vs IPv6
Internet Protocol
version 4 (IPv4)
Internet Protocol
version 6 (IPv6)
Deployed 1981 1999
Address Size 32-bit number 128-bit number
Address Format Dotted Decimal Hexadecimal Notation
Notation 192.0.2.100 2001:DB8:abcd::1
Prefix Notation 192.0.2.0/24 2001:DB8::/32
Number of Addresses 232 = ~4,000,000,000 2128 = ~340,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000
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8. Background of IPv6 Protocol
• August 1990
– First wake-up call by Solensky in IETF on IPv4 address exhaustion
• December 1994
– IPng area were formed within IETF to manage IPng effort [RFC1719]
– List of technical criteria was defined to choose IPng [RFC1726]
• January 1995
– IPng director recommendation to use 128 bit address [RFC1752]
• December 1995
– First version of IPv6 address specification [RFC1883]
• December 1998
– Updated version changing header format from 1st version [RFC2460]
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9. Motivation Behind IPv6 Protocol
• Plenty of address space (mobile phones, tablet computers,
car parts, etc.)
• Solution of very complex hierarchical addressing need,
which IPv4 is unable to provide
• End-to-end communication without the need of NAT for
real-time applications (i.e, online transaction)
• Ensure security, reliability of data and faster processing of
protocol overhead
• Stable service for mobile network (i.e, Internet on airlines,
trains)
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10. New Functional Improvements
• Address space
– Increase from 32-bit to 128-bit address space
• Management
– Stateless auto-configuration means no more need to configure IP
addresses for end systems, even via DHCP
• Performance
– Fixed header size (40 bytes) and 64-bit header alignment mean
better performance from routers and bridges/switches
• No hop-by-hop segmentation
– Path MTU discovery
10

11. New Functional Improvements
• Multicast
– Built-in features for multicast groups, management, and new
“anycast” groups
• No more broadcast
• Mobile IP
– Eliminate triangular routing and simplify deployment of mobile IP-
based systems
• Virtual private networks
– Built-in support for ESP/AH encrypted/ authenticated virtual private
network protocols
• Built-in support for QoS tagging
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12. Any THING Communication
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Any TIME Connection
Any PLACE Connection
Any THING Connection
Night
Daytime
On the Move
Outdoor
Indoor (Away from Computer
At the Computer
Between Computers
Human to Human, Not Using Computer
Human to Thing, Using Generic Equipment
Thing to Thing

13. Internet of Everything
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14. Supporting IPv6-only Networks
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https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=05042016a

15. Final Note
• IPv6 is now inevitable as we continue to move toward a ubiquitously
connected society, e.g, smart cities
• Without IPv6 deployment, it is just a matter of time before networks
(countries) become isolated and unable to communicate
• Ability to integrate devices, such as mobile phones, IoT, etc, is no
longer a want − it is a need
• Without IPv6, will severely limit the move towards a connected society,
hindering government and business efficiency
• Government personnel need integrated, secure functionality to help
provide citizen services
• IPv6 is no longer just a technical issue to be tackled only at the
operational level. It needs to involve all levels and agencies within
government
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16. 16
https://www.apnic.net/ipv6

17. 17
“96 More Bits, No Magic”

18. Thank You
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fakrul@apnic.net