IPv4/IPv6 Dual Stack for Embedded Networking

IPv6, the latest standard set by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), expands and supplements the capabilities of IPv4, particularly in the number of available IP addresses. IPv4 uses a 32-bit field, resulting in just over 4 billion unique IP addresses. With the ever-growing use of global Internet devices and the uneven distribution of network addresses, certain large organizations and geographic regions are experiencing a shortage of unique IP addresses. IPv6 uses a 128-bit address field, which provides room for 3.4(10^38) unique addresses, more than enough for every person to own thousands of addresses and for every device to connect directly to the Internet.

Because NetX Duo is an IPv4 and IPv6 dual TCP/IP stack, it can handle both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols as well as being highly optimized for performance-critical embedded devices. Its modular architecture allows designers to customize various components based on their system requirements. NetX Duo APIs are fully backward compatible with the IPv4 services in NetX. Therefore existing NetX applications can be migrated to NetX Duo with minimal porting effort.

“NetX Duo simplifies developers’ jobs by enabling them to transition from IPv4 to IPv6 seamlessly, as their customers demand,” commented William E. Lamie, president of Express Logic. “NetX Duo answers the need for expanded IP capabilities, with the ability to support legacy needs at the same time.”

NetX Duo has been tested for RFC compilance using the TAHI test suite (phase 2). This ensures that NetX Duo conforms to RFC standards and offers complete interoperability with devices from other vendors. Thanks to implementing the IPv6 protocol, NetX Duo also enjoys several new capabilities. For the first time, nodes can configure their interface addresses automatically through the Stateless Address Autoconfiguration protocol. As well, nodes can use layered structures to enable devices to more efficiently process IPv6 headers.