China eyes next-generation Internet

Edited and translated by People's Daily Online

IPv6 is coming, for real this time

China will put Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) into small-scale commercial pilot use and form a mature business model by the end of 2013, the State Council recently said at an executive meeting about the main goals and road map for the China Next Generation Internet project.

The country will then deploy the IPv6-based network on a large scale, and build a bridge between major IPv4- and IPv6-based services between 2014 and 2015.

This indicates the coming of the next-generation Internet featuring more IP addresses, greater capacity, and faster speed.

Why IPv6?

The next-generation Internet mainly refers to a new generation Internet based on IPv6, which provides faster speed, higher security, and more IP addresses than the current IPv4 system.

At present, most of the IP addresses worldwide are based on the IPv4 system developed in 1977, which only allows for a total of 4.3 billion addresses. Statistics showed that the last five blocks of IPv4 addresses were allocated on Feb. 3, 2011, making IPv6 deployment even more urgent.

IPv6 uses a 128-bit address scheme, and provides a virtually unlimited number of addresses: 2 to the 128th power. The abundant addresses will lift the Internet to a new level, and can be allocated to more devices such as household electrical appliances and vehicles, so they can be directly connected to the Internet. With IPv6, there will also be more diverse online services.

Of course, IPv6 has powerful new functions. For example, it could carry out the Internet target recognition, ID authentication and access authorization, has the data encryption function and integrality and is more secure; it complies with the trend of mobilization and is more convenient; it could be used to develop large-scale real-time communication applications; and its management and operation are more orderly and effective.