IPv6 and Linux
Nov 4, 2008 — by LinuxDevices Staff — from the LinuxDevices Archive — 1 viewsThis article discusses the advantages of IPv6, which in addition to a larger address space promises to increase standby time in devices, and improve performance in routers. Along with IPv6 technology, it discusses how IPv6 has been implemented in the Linux kernel.
The article was written by Rami Rosen, a Computer Science graduate of The Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. Rosen works as a Linux kernel programmer for a networking startup.
Rosen begins with a brief history of IPv6, which evolved from IPng (Internet Protocol, next generation). He discusses the benefits of IPv6's larger address space, such as eliminating NAT (network address translation) for easier “end-to-end” VoIP phone configuration and reduced Keep Alive traffic.
Next, Rosen describes how IPv6 addresses work, before comparing IPv4's ARP broadcast neighboring system to IPv6's ICMPv6 multicast neighboring system. He then describes how IPv6 host routing daemons like RADVD and Quagga dynamically configure stateful or stateless routes, without any prior configuration on the client side.
Finally, Rosen concludes with a description of IPv6 packet headers, and how DNS and ad hoc IPSec work differently in IPv6, compared to IPv4. Along the way, it becomes clear that IPv6 promises to deliver a bounty of improvements, beyond simply supporting a larger address space.
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