Help build a strong network nation, IPv6 “+” runs fast

Favorable policies inject a "boost" into the development of IPv6

It has become a consensus in the industry to promote the large-scale deployment of IPv6, and the policies introduced one after another have injected a "booster" into the large-scale deployment of IPv6.

The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Digital Economy" recently released by the State Council clearly proposes to promote the large-scale deployment and application of IPv6, carry out in-depth IPv6 transformation of network infrastructure, enhance network interconnection capabilities, optimize network and application service performance, improve infrastructure business carrying capacity and terminal support capabilities, and deepen IPv6 transformation of various websites and applications.

The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Information and Communication Industry" recently released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pointed out that the improvement of IPv6 capabilities is one of the key tasks in the "14th Five-Year Plan" period. It is necessary to enhance the end-to-end connectivity of IPv6; promote the integrated development of IPv6 with artificial intelligence, cloud computing, industrial Internet, Internet of Things, etc., support the implementation of "IPv6+" innovative technology pilots and large-scale applications in key industries such as finance, energy, transportation, education, and government affairs, and enhance the IPv6 network's support capabilities for the digital transformation and upgrading of the industry.

The "Three-Year Special Action Plan for Improving IPv6 Traffic (2021-2023)" jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Central Cyberspace Affairs Office in July 2021 proposed to accelerate the progress of "IPv6+" network technology innovation, technology research and development, and standard research such as IPv6 Segment Routing (SRv6), expand the pilot projects in existing networks, and gradually achieve large-scale deployment. By the end of 2023, the proportion of IPv6 traffic in my country's mobile networks will exceed 50%, and the scale of IPv6 traffic in fixed networks will reach more than three times that of the end of 2020; the average concentration of IPv6 in the top 100 commercial mobile Internet applications in China will exceed 70%; and the proportion of fixed terminals with IPv6 addresses will exceed 80%.

The "Notice on Accelerating the Large-Scale Deployment and Application of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)" issued by the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology in July 2021 clearly defines the key directions for promoting the large-scale deployment and application of IPv6 in the next five years. By 2025, the number of active IPv6 users will reach 800 million, the number of IPv6 connections in the Internet of Things will reach 400 million, the proportion of mobile network IPv6 traffic will reach 70%, and the proportion of metropolitan area network IPv6 traffic will reach 20%. my country has become an important driving force for global "IPv6+" technology and industry innovation, and its independent innovation capabilities in network information technology have been significantly enhanced.

All network infrastructure supports IPv6, with over 600 million active users

The policy increase has created a good environment for the large-scale development of IPv6. IPv6 is accelerating its large-scale deployment and has achieved remarkable results. With the joint efforts of the three major operators, CDN companies, data center companies and other industry chains, my country's network infrastructure has fully supported IPv6.

In terms of the number of IPv6 addresses owned, my country has applied for a total of 60,059 IPv6 address resources, ranking first in the world.

In terms of the number of users, as of December 2021, the number of active IPv6 users in my country has reached 608 million, accounting for approximately 60.11% of Chinese Internet users.

In terms of traffic growth and share, as of December 2021, the total IPv6 traffic in the metropolitan area network exceeded 44.77Tbit/s, accounting for 9.38% of the total network traffic; the total IPv6 traffic in the mobile network exceeded 24.43Tbit/s, accounting for 35.15% of the total network traffic. Monitoring data from the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission shows that as of the end of December 2021, the 200 mobile applications (APPs) with the highest frequency of use by domestic netizens in my country all support IPv6 access, with an average IPv6 traffic share of 52.89%, of which 87 APPs account for more than 65% of IPv6 traffic.

Comparing the development speed at home and abroad, data from research organization APNIC shows that as of the end of 2021, the proportion of IPv6 users in the world's Internet users was 28.28%, and China was 37.65%, second only to Japan and India.

"IPv6+" came into being

At present, the complex business scenarios in the 5G and cloud era have put forward higher requirements for network simplification, network experience and network intelligence. It is necessary to further combine IPv6 with innovative technologies on the basis of IPv6 to develop an enhanced "IPv6+" network.

As an "upgraded and enhanced version" of IPv6, "IPv6+" not only includes protocol innovations represented by SRv6, network slicing, iFIT, BIERv6, APN6, etc., but also covers network intelligent technology innovations represented by network analysis, network self-healing, automatic tuning, etc., which can comprehensively improve IP network capabilities in six dimensions: wide connection, ultra-wide, automation, determinism, low latency, and security. "IPv6+" is an intelligent IP network technology for the 5G and cloud era, which can achieve cloud-network integration, rapid service provisioning, guaranteed service quality and experience, drive network service transformation, stimulate business and business model innovation, accelerate the pace of enterprise digitalization, and stimulate data potential.

In order to better meet the needs of industry users and support the digital transformation and development of thousands of industries, the industry chain needs to help "IPv6+" continue to advance at the policy, technology, and standard levels to stimulate data potential. my country is also creating new advantages in the field of "IPv6+" in many ways. In terms of product maturity, mainstream manufacturers have launched "IPv6+" related standard landing products; in terms of scale application, my country has more than 100 "IPv6+" pilot projects; in terms of ecological construction, more than 40 industrial organizations, enterprises, and research institutions have carried out "IPv6+" related work.

Recently, the "Winter Olympics Smart Private Network" built by China Unicom has taken the lead in passing the "IPv6+" test and evaluation, and has obtained the first "IPv6+" Ready1.0 certificate in the country. China Unicom's "IPv6+" Ready1.0 operation service was officially launched in Xiongan New Area, marking Xiongan as the first "IPv6+" Ready city, and China Unicom has officially entered the "IPv6+" era. It is worth mentioning that China Unicom has applied "IPv6+" to the world's high-level events - the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, proving that "IPv6+" technology is suitable for large-scale, high-quality, and complex business networks, can meet users' high-quality requirements, and can provide a wonderful business experience for various applications.

In addition to China Unicom's successful application of "IPv6+" in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, China Mobile and China Telecom have also achieved remarkable results in the field of "IPv6+". China Mobile organized manufacturers to complete the live network pilot of the G-SRv6 technology system, fully verifying that the G-SRv6 technology has the ability to be deployed on a live network scale. China Telecom has been promoting IPv6 work since 2003, and has achieved remarkable results in three aspects: technology research, live network pilot, and large-scale deployment.

"IPv6+" deployment can be divided into three steps

Liu Yulin, deputy director of the Information and Communications Development Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, once said that "IPv6+" is of great significance to promoting network evolution and upgrading, and accelerating technology and application innovation. "Focusing on shortcomings to consolidate the foundation, deepening application collaborative innovation, and strengthening cooperation to improve the ecosystem" is the focus that all parties need to work together to promote in the next step.

It has become an industry consensus that "IPv6+" deployment can be divided into "three steps". The first stage is "IPv6+ 1.0", which mainly solves the problem of network programmability; the second stage is "IPv6+ 2.0", which mainly solves the problem of user experience through slicing and flow detection technology; the third stage is "IPv6+ 3.0", which ultimately realizes application-driven network.

Specifically, from 2020 to 2021, the 1.0 phase focuses on network programming capabilities. The main focus is on promoting the application of the SRv6 (segment routing) protocol, with the aim of simplifying the network, achieving flexible cross-domain opening of operator VPN dedicated lines and partial network autonomy.

From 2022 to 2023 is the 2.0 stage, which focuses on improving user experience. The 2.0 stage mainly focuses on network slicing, flow detection, new multicast, determinism, security, etc., so as to meet the application requirements of 5G to B, industrial Internet, cloud network integration, computing network, etc., and realize conditional network autonomy.

From 2023 to 2025, "IPv6+" will enter the 3.0 stage and realize application-driven networks. This stage will better leverage the advantages of application-aware networks, application-driven network programming, and network flow-by-flow SLA guarantees to achieve application awareness, create a highly autonomous network, and meet a wider range of personalized customized network needs.

"The upgrade from IPv6 to 'IPv6+' is a phased process from 'IPv6+' 1.0 to 2.0 and then to 3.0. At present, my country's 'IPv6+' development has entered the second stage, and it is necessary to continuously improve network capabilities." said Wu Hequan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.