Corporate.Net internetRx By Chris Lewis Q: I've seen a lot written about IP version 6 (or IP Next Generation, as it is sometimes referred to). When will it be available, and what are some of its benefits? A: Internet Protocol version 6, or the Next Generation, should be available from some router vendors, including Cisco Systems and Bay Networks, by the early part of next year as a beta release. You shouldn't look upon IPv6 as a mere upgrade--it's a whole new protocol. The most commonly quoted feature of IPv6 is its expanded available address space. The current version, IPv4, has 32 bits available for addressing networks and hosts. IPv6 will offer 128 bits, giving you at least 1,564 addresses per square yard of the Earth's surface. The real benefits of IPv6, however, lie in its autoconfiguration, security, quality of servic e (QoS) capabilities and improved efficiency over IPv4. The autoconfiguration feature is most useful to intranet administrators. With IPv6 will come the demise of individually numbered host computers and complex subnet mask schemes. An IPv6 node will be able to automatically obtain a valid address wherever it is connected on the network, greatly simplifying the use of mobile computers on the Internet. Security is becoming increasingly important these days, and IPv6 has two new mechanisms to enhance security: an Authentication Header and an Encapsulating Security Header. Respectively, they improve the protocol's ability to authenticate messages and provide confidentiality to IPv6 packets. Many forthcoming add-ons for IPv4 --such as the Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP)--will improve its QoS capabilities. In contrast, IPv6 provides QoS features as part of the protocol by assigning Flow Labels (which reduce variable delays in the delivery of real-time data) and Priority in the IPv6 header. For wide deployment, the transition mechanism must be as simple as possible and let IPv6 and IPv4 devices interoperate during that transition. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is considering several schemes to simplify the transition to IPv6, including embedding IPv4 addresses within IPv6 addresses, implementing routers and hosts that have both IPv4 and IPv6 stacks loaded, and tunneling IPv4 traffic through IPv6 networks. If you are going to deploy IPv6, you need to discuss the options carefully with your IPv6 router vendor. To get more information on the IPv6 protocols, check out playground.sun.com/pub/ipng/ html/ipng-main.html, which has links to various IPv6 information pages.

Securing Intranet Data With SSL Client Certificates by Robert J Kohlhepp Updated June 27, 1997