Virtual world "express system" upgrade, IPv6+ is what? ｜MWC 2022

During the MWC22 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Zhao Zhipeng, vice president of Huawei's data communication product line, mentioned in the keynote speech of the IPv6 forum that from the Internet of Everyone to the Internet of Everything, IPv6+ has achieved 100+ commercial uses around the world, effectively supporting the digital development of various industries such as finance, manufacturing, energy, education, and medical care.

As we get closer and closer to the era of the Internet of Everything, people can't help but wonder about IPv6+, the "behind-the-scenes driver": What is IPv6+?

With the continuous development of science and technology, with the Internet as the dividing line, the world has diverged: people call the offline world the physical world, and the online world the virtual world.

In the physical world, everyone has their own markings, such as id cards. Virtual worlds, like physical worlds, require identity systems. The IP address is the ID card in the virtual world, while the Internet is a set of "express delivery system", and the IP protocol is the "workflow and system" of the express delivery system. All the information we need to convey, including text, pictures, audio, video, etc., needs to be packaged into "express parcels" one by one, and then transported through the express delivery system to the final destination.

After the birth of the Internet, the v4 version of the IP protocol has been used for a long time, which is also known as IPv4. We can understand it as the first generation of express delivery systems. Later, with the rapid development of the Internet, the original IPv4 exposed a lot of problems, and the "express delivery system" was upgraded to the second generation, introducing MPLS (multi-protocol label exchange) technology.

By now, the challenges facing the Internet have far exceeded the capabilities of the second generation of "express delivery systems". The third generation of "express delivery system" based on IPv6 and IPv6+ is shining.

IPv6, the 6th edition of the Internet Protocol, is a next-generation IP protocol designed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to replace IPv4. Due to the problem of insufficient IPv4 addresses, which has seriously restricted the application and development of the Internet, the use of IPv6 solves the problem of the number of network address resources, and can assign an IP address to each grain of sand on the earth.

IPv6+ is an enhanced innovation of IPv6, is a comprehensive upgrade of IPv6-based network capabilities, in the August 2020 ETSI released IPv6 white paper, ETSI believes that IPv6+ includes IPv6-based protocol innovation, and the combination of IPv6 and AI. Represented by protocol innovation such as SRv6, intelligent path planning is realized by combining network intelligence innovation technologies such as network analysis and intelligent tuning. Rapid service deployment, O&M automation, quality visualization, SLA assurance, application awareness, and more.

At the same time, in the Gap Analysis report released by ETSI in August 2021, ETSI concluded that IPv6+ comprehensively improves IP network capabilities from six dimensions: ultra-wide, wide connection, certainty, low latency, automation and security.

The introduction of IPv6 and IPv6+ is creating a future-oriented third-generation "express delivery system" for us.

Based on the "express delivery system" of IPv6, each user has his own identity, and the courier can directly deliver the courier to the user's hand. In this way, there is no longer a need for a janitor or courier cabinet to do secondary delivery, and the risk of lost express parcels is reduced and the process is simplified.

The second major improvement in IPv6 is the upgrade of "express packaging". The IPv6 header is longer and can record more content and information. That is to say, we can put more labels on "express packaging" to identify the attributes of the goods in the carton, such as: heavy goods, fragile items, emergency, and so on.

The "courier system" can quickly determine the services required for this express package, such as the need for expedited, careful and light, etc. In this way, the "courier company" can provide more refined services for different customers according to the information displayed by the package, and adopt differentiated charging standards. "Express delivery companies" can also take the boutique route and provide exclusive express channels to achieve exclusive resources for high-end users.

Similarly, because IPv6+ has comprehensively improved its capabilities on IPv6, it can accurately identify the attributes of IPv6 packets and provide corresponding services, thereby helping operators better grasp the data situation in the entire network and better mobilize and allocate resources.

First, IPv6+ has upgraded navigation capabilities

The transportation path of the traditional "express delivery system" is relatively fixed and rigid. From the beginning to the end, the transport vehicle passes through each intersection, and the intersection specifies the direction of the next step.

IPv6 allows optimal planning of paths by combining with SR (Segment Routing) technology and SDN (Software Defined Networking) technology. That is to say, when the express parcel departs, it has already obtained the best path from the starting point to the end point from the management center. Every time the road is selected, it is carried out according to the plan, which can avoid congestion and detours. Super path orchestration capabilities can greatly improve efficiency.

Second, IPv6+ can provide a dedicated channel for services

IPv6 through the combination of network Slicing (Network Slicing) technology, can open up a dedicated channel for key services on the road, for example, from A to B place video large particle transmission needs a lot, then you can establish a video large particle service line, better meet the transmission demand.

It's as if there is a lot of demand for seafood transportation from place A to place B, so the courier company purchases more cold chain transport vehicles and invests them in this route to make more profits.

Third, IPv6+ upgrades network O&M capabilities

First of all, centralized management, IPv6+ can easily convert the configuration intent into a script, automatically deploy to each network node, after the introduction of AI, it can automatically analyze the fault phenomenon, find the cause faster, and also actively identify potential failure risks in the network in advance according to the learning of the fault model to achieve accident prevention.

Centralized management + AI management greatly reduces the difficulty of network maintenance, improves O&M efficiency, and reduces maintenance costs.

Fourth, the security defense capabilities of IPv6+ have been greatly improved compared with IPv4, and the integrated defense of cloud, network and security has been truly realized.

In traditional networks, because IPv4 addresses are scarce, a large number of private networks exist, and malicious behavior is difficult to trace. It's like the bad guys hiding in the shadows, sending out problematic packages, wreaking havoc on the delivery system, but not being able to find out who did it.

Networks that support IPv6+ can replace private addresses with public addresses, which means that every package shipped in the "courier system" has real traceable sender information. Without the disguise of the private network, the vandalism will be hidden. The upgraded express packaging (data message structure) also greatly increases the difficulty of malicious forgery and eavesdropping on packages by saboteurs, and enhances the security and privacy of packages.

All in all, IPv6+ will support the next generation of Internet high-speed, efficient, flexible and intelligent upgrades. It can provide differentiated service capabilities that meet the application needs of thousands of industries, adapt to the business carrying needs of different industries, support the digital transformation of various industries, help the consumer Internet upgrade to the industrial Internet, and promote the development of the entire digital economy.