WO2009151310A1

WO2009151310A1 - System and method for representing internet protocol version 6 (ipv6) addresses

Info

Publication number: WO2009151310A1
Application number: PCT/MY2008/000187
Authority: WO
Inventors: Mohd Ariff Abdullah; Gopinath Rao Sinniah; Gopakumar Kurup
Original assignee: Mimos Berhad
Priority date: 2007-12-21
Filing date: 2008-12-15
Publication date: 2009-12-17
Also published as: MY152187A

Abstract

The present invention provides a method and system for representation of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addresses in a more readable and manageable form, which can be easily remembered. In one embodiment a logical American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII codes) string is selected to denote a node, which is converted into hexadecimal values and appended to the network address so as to form the IP v6 address. The IP v6 address in the ASCII form is more readable and manageable and therefore easy to remember.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR REPRESENTING INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 (IPV6) ADDRESSES

FIELD OF INVENTION The embodiments herein relate generally to the representation of Internet

Protocol addresses and more particularly to the representation of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addresses.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a new version of the Internet Protocol, designed as a successor to Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). IPv6 enables expanded addressing capabilities, wherein the IP address size increases from 32 bits to 128 bits, to support more levels of addressing hierarchy, a much greater number of addressable nodes, and simpler auto-configuration of addresses. Further it enables header format simplification, improved support for extensions and options changes in the way IP header options are encoded, allows for more efficient forwarding, flow labeling capability, and authentication and privacy capabilities.

However, each of the IPv6 addresses comprises of 16 bytes hexadecimal values. Each IPv6 address is normally written as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits. For example,

2001:0db8:85a3:08d3:1319:8a2e:0370:7334

is a valid IPv6 address. If one or more four-digit group(s) is 0000, the zeros may be omitted and replaced with two colons (::). For example,

2001 :0db8:0000:0000:0000:0000: 1428:57ab

can be shortened to

2001:0db8::1428:57ab. The 16 bytes hexadecimal values are generally illogical and meaninglessly chosen, which makes them difficult to be remembered by the humans such as end users or administrators. As a result of which, creation and management of subnets becomes a tedious job since remembering addresses of all the subnets is not an easy task.

Consequently, a method and system to represent IPv6 addresses in a more manageable and readable form is required, which is easier to remember.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and system for representing IPv6 addresses in a more manageable and readable form. In one embodiment an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII codes) string selected for a node is translated into corresponding hexadecimal values through hexadecimal ASCII translation mechanism, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or through analog methods.

In one embodiment the ASCII string selected to denote a node is selected depending on the node.

In one embodiment the corresponding hexadecimal values are appended to the network address.

The system comprises of a translator, an appender, and a table of values of ASCII codes and corresponding hexadecimal values. The translator translates a selected ASCII string into corresponding hexadecimal values. The appender appends the corresponding values to the network address.

The method and system enables a more readable and manageable representation of IPv6 addresses, which can be easily remembered. Further, users such as system administrators and end-users do not need to remember long hexadecimal IPv6 addresses to communicate with each other and can use the more readable and manageable representation of IPv6 addresses.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the drawings, and from the detailed description that follows below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Reference will be made to embodiments of the invention, examples of which may be illustrated in the accompanying figures. These figures are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Although the invention is generally described in the context of these embodiments, it should be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these particular embodiments.

Figure 1 shows a method for representing Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addresses as per an embodiment herein.

Figure 2 illustrates a system for representing IPv6 addresses as per an embodiment herein.

Figure 3 shows an application of the method and system as described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A system and method for representation of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addresses in a more readable and manageable form is described.

In one embodiment an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII codes) string selected for a node is translated into corresponding hexadecimal values through hexadecimal ASCII translation mechanism, which may be implemented in hardware, software, or through analog methods.

In one embodiment the ASCII string selected to denote a node is selected depending on the node. In one embodiment the corresponding hexadecimal values are appended to the network address.

In the following description, for purpose of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the invention may be practiced without these details. One skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments of the present invention, some of which are described below, may be incorporated into a number of different systems requiring content filtering. The embodiments of the present invention may be present in hardware, software or firmware. The best mode of the invention described in the specification illustrates the exemplary embodiment of the invention. It is understood that one skilled in art may modify or change the data used in the best mode of invention.

Reference in the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, characteristic, or function described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment" in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

Figure 1 illustrates a method for representing IPv6 addresses in a more readable and manageable form as per an embodiment herein. Selecting 101 an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII codes) string for a node is performed based on the node. A node may be Computer, PDA, IP phone, Internet TV, and the like. An ASCII string is a set of characters, which may be chosen from the range of ASCII codes characters to logically denote a node. For example, a computer may be represented by an ASCII string

CNS ARIEF

which can be logically related as computer which belongs to a person called, Arief from a division called, CNS. Translating 103 the selected ASCII string into corresponding hexadecimal values is performed based on a table of values 207. A detailed description of the table of values 207 is given with reference to Figure 2. For example, the ASCII string selected above

CNS ARIFF

is translated into hexadecimal values as:

434E53204152494646

Appending 105 the corresponding hexadecimal values to the network address to form an IP v6 address is performed. For example, the hexadecimal values above

434E53204152494646

are appended to a network address such as:

2407:4000

to form an IP v6 address:

2407:4000:434E:53::2401:5249:4646

The network address

2407:4000

may stand for

MIMOS In the ASCII form to denote a Company named, MIMOS , Berhard(Malaysia).

Therefore, the IP v6 address

2407:4000:434E:53::2401:5249:4646

is represented in the form

MIMOS Berhard (Malaysia) CNS ARIFF.

The latter form of representation is more readable and easy to remember and may be referred to as the ASCII coded form as compared to the hexadecimal form.

Figure 2 illustrates a system for representing IPv6 addresses in a more readable and manageable form as per an embodiment herein. System 201 includes a translator 203, an appender 205, and a table of values 207. The table of values 207 is a standard ASCII table containing corresponding values of decimal, hexadecimal, octal, HTML, and ASCII characters. It may be apparent that a corresponding hexadecimal value for an ASCII character and vice-versa can be looked up in an ASCII table.

Figure 2 also shows IPv6 addresses 209a and 209b. The addresses 209a and 209b refer to the same node in the network. However, IPv6 address 209a is in the hexadecimal form. For example,

2407:4000:434E:53::2401:5249:4646

is an IPv6 address in the hexadecimal form. IPv6 address 209b, on the other hand, is the ASCII coded form of the IPv6 address 209a.

System 201 represents the hexadecimal form, IPv6 address 209a by an ASCII coded form, IPv6 address 209b. System 201 includes means for selecting an ASCII string for a node based on the node. Translator 203 translates the selected ASCII string into corresponding hexadecimal values based on the table of values 207. Appender 205 appends the corresponding hexadecimal values to the network address to form an IP v6 address 209a.

It may be apparent to a person skilled in the art, that system 201 may be used to switch between the ASCII coded and hexadecimal form of IP v6 addresses, 209b and 209a, repectively. Further, system 201 operates in the layer 5. As a result of which, the user always uses and sees the ASCII coded form of the IPv6 addresses, 209b, which is more readable and manageable and is easy to remember Figure 3 shows an application of the method and system as described herein.

Figure 3 shows user 301, system 201, and machines 303. User 301 is a sender or a receiver of data on the network that may be a system administrator or an end user. A sender enters a receiver's IPv6 address in the ASCII coded form 209b. System 201 converts the ASCII coded form of the IPv6 address 209b entered by the user into the hexadecimal form 209a in layer 5. The IPv6 address 209a in the hexadecimal form is inserted into IP packets and sent to the receiver. At the receiver end, system 201 represents the hexadecimal form of the IPv6 address into ASCII coded form in layer 5. Therefore, the user 301, which may be a sender or a receiver, is always able to use and see the IPv6 address in the ASCII coded form only, which is more readable and manageable as it is easy to remember.

The foregoing description of the invention has been described for purposes of clarity and understanding. It is not intended to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Various modifications may be possible within the scope and equivalence of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for representing Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addresses, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting an American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII codes) string based on a node (101);

translating the selected ASCII string into corresponding hexadecimal values (103);

appending the corresponding hexadecimal values to the network address (105);

2. The method as in claim 1 wherein the translation is performed based on a table of values.

3. The method as in claim 1 wherein the translation is performed in layer (5).

4. A system for representing Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) addresses, the system comprising: means for selecting an American Standard Code for Information Interchange

(ASCII codes) string based on a node;

a translator (203) for translating the selected ASCII string into corresponding hexadecimal values;

appender (205) for appending the corresponding hexadecimal values to the network address.

6. The system as in claim 5 wherein the translation is performed in layer (5).

7. The system as in claim 5 wherein the translation is performed based on a table of values (207).