Internet Protocol Forum

by Sean Convery, Identity Engines

Network Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting has been used since before the days of the Internet as we know it today. Authentication asks the question, “Who or what are you?” Authorization asks, “What are you allowed to do?” And finally, accounting wants to know, “What did you do?” These fundamental security building blocks are being used in expanded ways today. The first part of this two-part series focused on the overall concepts of AAA, the elements involved in AAA communications, and high-level approaches to achieving specific AAA goals. It was published in IPJ Volume 10, No. 1 [0]. This second part of the series discusses the protocols involved, specific applications of AAA, and considerations for the future of AAA.

more …

by Carlos J. Bernardos, Ignacio Soto, and María Calderón, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid

The Internet Protocol (IP) is currently accelerating the integration of voice and data communications. The Mobile IP protocol enables host mobility support, but several scenarios exist today, such as the provision of Internet access from mobile platforms (for example, planes, trains, cars, etc.), making it necessary to also support the mobility of complete networks. In response to this demand, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed the Network Mobility (NEMO) Basic Support Protocol [1], enabling IPv6 network mobility.

more …

by Geoff Huston, APNIC

Over the past year or so we have seen a heightened level of interest in Internet routing and addressing. Speculation regarding the future role of the Internet raises the possibility of the Internet supporting as many as hundreds of billions of chattering devices. What does such a future imply in terms of the core technologies of the Internet? Consideration of this topic has prompted a critical examination of the architecture of the Internet, including the scaling properties of routing systems, the forms of interdependence between addressing plans and routing, and the roles of addresses within the architecture.

more …

by Dave Crocker, Brandenburg InternetWorking

The first Internet (ARPANET) e-mail, sent 35 years ago, was remarkably similar to a basic text e-mail of today: From, To, CC, Subject, Date, followed by lines of text, and the familiar @-sign in addresses. The right side of the address changed from a simple string into the multilevel domain name that we now use. The body can now be a set of multimedia attachments rather than just lines of text, but it can still be in its original, simpler form. The means of moving mail was the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) in the early 1970s. The current mechanism, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) [1a, 1b], was not created until 10 years later, but a mere 25 years of use is not bad, either.

more …

ARIN Board Advises Internet Community on Migration to IPv6

The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) and the other Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) have distributed Internet Protocol version 6, IPv6, alongside IPv4 since 1999. To date, ARIN has issued both protocol versions in tandem and has not advocated one over the other. ARIN has closely monitored trends in demand and distribution for both protocol versions with the understanding that the IPv4 available resource pool would continue to diminish.

more …