The impact of the IPV6 protocol on managing network applications

Significant changes in the IPV6 protocol have improved network device management. First, increasing the IP address from 32 to 128 will increase the structure and distribution of the address. The IPV6 address consists of a global routing prefix, a subnet ID, and an interface ID (local links in the LAN). The globally unique part of the address domain is distributed hierarchically according to the network infrastructure topology defined by the Internet Address Assignment Authority (IANA). This will make the IPV6 Global routing table very small, thus avoiding some scaling problems encountered by current BGP routing.

Second, there are enough addresses in the IPV6 to assign a unique IP address to every square inch of the Earth. While this actually allows you to assign an IP address to any device you can think of, this is a nightmare for administrators who manage address assignments. Fortunately, IPv6 contains a "node Autoconfiguration" feature. This is actually the next generation of DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) alternatives in all IPV6 networks, allowing you to connect new devices to the network without any setup. If you have changed your ISP (and therefore are assigned a different global routing prefix), this feature makes it easier for your network to reassign IP addresses, because all you have to do is change your router's settings, and your network will regain a new address using the new prefix. This will reduce the enormous burden of network management.

With the increase of IPv6 function, there are some potential management problems. The IPV6 itself provides security support, a feature called "IPsec." Depending on how the VPN is established, encryption may include some header information that may not be included. VPNs can reduce the amount of communication management between client and server. The security policy between management endpoints (IKE, Internet Key exchange) is also complex, if you want to do the work yourself. This is one of the main features provided by IPSec and VPN. Of course, IPSec can be powerful, but it is vulnerable to certain remote access situations, such as using a mobile device to access a corporate network. The provision of this service by IT departments will further increase the burden of management.

Transitioning from the current IPV4 network to the IPV6 network there is no need to take a big step in the way it is done, because the new technology provides gateway services between the two networks, such as the Big-ip IPV6 gateway produced by F5 Network company. BIG-IP provides a comprehensive proxy for communication between the IPV4 network and the IPV6 network, allowing all communications to be converted to traffic that IPV4 or IPV6 endpoints can handle. This will allow institutions to progressively transition to IPV6 based on the growth of IPV6 requirements.