Softwire (protocol)

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In computer networking, a softwire protocol is a type of tunneling protocol that creates a virtual "wire" that transparently encapsulates another protocol as if it was an anonymous point-to-point low-level link. [1] Softwires are used for various purposes, one of which is to carry IPv4 traffic over IPv6 and vice versa, in order to support IPv6 transition mechanisms. [2]

In computer networks, a tunneling protocol is a communications protocol that allows for the movement of data from one network to another. It involves allowing private network communications to be sent across a public network, such as the Internet, through a process called encapsulation. A tunneling protocol may, for example, allow a foreign protocol to run over a network that does not support that particular protocol, such as running IPv6 over IPv4. Another important use is to provide services that are impractical or unsafe to be offered using only the underlying network services, such as providing a corporate network address to a remote user whose physical network address is not part of the corporate network. Because tunneling involves repackaging the traffic data into a different form, perhaps with encryption as standard, it can hide the nature of the traffic that is run through a tunnel.

Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol (IP). It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet, and was the first version deployed for production in the ARPANET in 1983. It still routes most Internet traffic today, despite the ongoing deployment of a successor protocol, IPv6. IPv4 is described in IETF publication RFC 791, replacing an earlier definition.

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet. IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to deal with the long-anticipated problem of IPv4 address exhaustion. IPv6 is intended to replace IPv4. In December 1998, IPv6 became a Draft Standard for the IETF, who subsequently ratified it as an Internet Standard on 14 July 2017.

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References

  1. ↑ "Tunneling Services for IPv4-to-IPv6 Transition Overview". Juniper. Retrieved 2012-09-25.
  2. ↑ "Softwires (softwire): Description of Working Group". IETF. Retrieved 2012-09-25.


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