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Implementation of IPv6 in 4.4 BSD


Randall J. Atkinson, Daniel L. McDonald, Bao G. Phan, Craig W. Metz, and Kenneth C. Chin
Information Technology Division, Naval Research Laboratory

Abstract

The widespread availability of the TCP/IP protocols in early versions of BSD UNIX fostered the currently widespread use of those protocols in commercial products. Rapid depletion of the IPv4 address space has caused the Internet Engineering Task Force to design version 6 of the Internet Protocol (IPv6). IPv6 has some similiarities with IPv4, but it also has many differences, most notably in address size. This paper describes our experience creating a freely distributable implementation of IPv6 inside 4.4 BSD, with focus on the areas that have changed between the IPv4 and IPv6 implementations.


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