Thread: IPv6 Teredo Utorrent

Thanks Kwang. Nice clear explanation at the link. Recent article too. Figured I would post that here...


IPv6: Five Things You Should Know

By Tony Bradley, PCWorld

Today is the day IPv6 finally goes live. For as long as there has been an Internet IPv4
has been synonymous with IP and nobody really stopped to think about which version
of the protocol it was. But IPv4 has outlived its usefulness.
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Researchers saw the writing on the wall, and could predict based on the rate of growth
for Internet use and IP-connected devices that IPv4 couldn't last forever. IPv6 has been
in development for nearly two decades. Now the next-generation protocol is ready to
replace IPv4 and assume its place as the backbone of the Internet.

So what exactly is IPv6 and what does it mean to you?

[Click to enlarge] IPv6IPv6 goes live today and begins the slow transition off of IPv4.
Why is IPv6 necessary?

The most obvious answer is that IPv4 is out of IP addresses. IPv4 has only 4.3 billion
addresses, and with PCs, smartphones, tablets, gaming systems, and just about
everything else connecting to the Internet we've tapped the system dry. IPv6
uses 128-bit addresses and is capable of 340 undecillion addresses. That is 340 times
10 to the 36th power, or 340 trillion trillion trillion possible IP addresses.

How is IPv6 different/better than IPv4?

Expanding the pool of IP addresses (putting it mildly) yields other benefits as well.
Because of the dearth of IPv4 addresses, much of the Internet relies on
NAT (Network Address Translation). With IPv6, every device can literally have its
own unique public IP address.

Most home and small business users really only have one IP address on the Internet-
-the one assigned to the router that connects them to their ISP. The router in turn
issues IP addresses internally to the devices that attach to it, but must constantly
keep track of which traffic belongs to which device, and translate the IP address
from the internal one to the public one in order to facilitate communications with the
Internet.

Tri Nguyen, a representative of ZyXEL, explains, "All devices will be accessible on
the public network, making it easier for people to manage things like home automation,
file sharing, online gaming, peer-to-peer programs and other applications without
complex settings on their router."

Nguyen adds that there are also features of the
IPv6 protocol itself that make it more secure than IPv4. The integrity and
authenticity of each IPv6 packet is ensured through encryption, and techniques
aimed at preventing packet spoofing. IPv6 is much better than IPv4 at making
sure Internet traffic gets to the correct destination without being intercepted.

Will my IPv4 devices still work / connect to the Internet?

In a word, yes. IPv4 and IPv6 are not directly compatible, but researchers realized
that they couldn't simply flip a switch and turn off IPv4 while most of the world still
depended on it. IPv6 devices are built using a process called dual stack that allows
IPv6 and IPv4 to run simultaneously alongside each other.

Nguyen says, "IPv4 support will not be dropped any time soon, and legacy IPv4
hardware should continue to function well into the future."

Is it urgent to switch to IPv6?

The fact is the vast majority of the devices connected to the Internet today are
not compatible with IPv6, and the dual-stack technology ensures that legacy IPv4
devices will still work for the foreseeable future. So, no--it's not urgent to switch to IPv6.

That said, IPv6 should still be on your radar. ZyXEL's Nguyen cautions, however,
that in regions that run out of IPv4 addresses completely, new hosts being connected
to the Internet could be forced to rely on IPv6 addresses.

SMBs need to be aware that IPv6 is here, and make sure that any future PC, mobile
device, network infrastructure, or other IT purchases support the next-generation protocol.
IPv4 should still be alive and kicking long enough for most organizations to transition to
IPv6 by attrition over time.

What are the top three reasons an SMB should care or make the switch to IPv6?

1. Inevitability
The simple fact of the matter is that IPv6 will soon be the only option for adding new
devices or hosts on the Internet. SMBs should be transitioning to IPv6 so they're prepared
when the inevitable day comes that IPv4 is no longer supported. Embracing IPv6 sooner
rather than later will allow SMBs to operate with the peace of mind that the extinction
of IPv4 won't impact their businesses.

2. Efficiency

Nguyen explains, "IPv6 simplifies and speeds up data transmission by handling packets
more efficiently, and removing the need to check packet integrity. This frees valuable
router time that can be better-spent moving data."

With enough unique IP addresses to go around (and then some), organizations won't
have to rely on NAT to connect to the Internet. IPv6 eliminates most of the address
conflict issues common under IPv4, and enables more streamlined connections and
communication for devices

3. Security

When networking gurus and researchers developed IPv4 security hadn't really crossed
their minds. IPv4 was never meant to be secure.

IPv6 has been built from the ground up with security in mind. Many of the security
features that have been duct-taped after the fact onto IPv4 as optional features
are integrated into IPv6 as default requirements. IPv6 encrypts traffic and checks
packet integrity to provide VPN-like protection for standard Internet traffic.

In computer networking, Teredo is a transition technology that gives full IPv6 connectivity for IPv6-capable hosts which are on the IPv4 Internet but which have no direct native connection to an IPv6 network. Compared to other similar protocols its distinguishing feature is that it is able to perform its function even from behind network address translation (NAT) devices such as home routers.
Teredo operates using a platform independent tunneling protocol designed to provide IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) connectivity by encapsulating IPv6 datagram packets within IPv4 User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets. These datagrams can be routed on the IPv4 Internet and through NAT devices. Other Teredo nodes elsewhere called Teredo relays that have access to the IPv6 network then receive the packets, unencapsulate them, and route them on.
Teredo is designed as a last resort transition technology and is intended to be a temporary measure: in the long term, all IPv6 hosts should use native IPv6 connectivity. Teredo should therefore be disabled when native IPv6 connectivity becomes available.