Is IPv8 the Answer? Allocating 2.2 B Public IPs per Person

Address space exhaustion and existing solutions

IPv4 uses a 32‑bit address space (2³² ≈ 4.3 billion addresses). Global population (~8.3 billion) and >310 billion connected devices in 2024 exceed this space, leading operators to deploy Carrier‑Grade NAT (CGNAT), which adds latency and complexity.

IPv6, standardized in 1998, provides a 128‑bit space (2¹²⁸ ≈ 3.4×10³⁴ addresses), enough to assign an address to every grain of sand. Adoption is slow because IPv6 is not backward‑compatible with IPv4, addresses are hard to remember, and dual‑stack deployments are required. As of the latest measurement, IPv6 carries only about 44 % of global Internet traffic.

IPv8 draft proposal

The IETF draft for “IPv8” defines a 64‑bit address space (2⁶⁴ ≈ 1.8×10¹⁹ addresses). This yields roughly 2.2 billion addresses per person on Earth and eliminates the need for CGNAT.

Address format:

r.r.r.r – the high 32 bits represent an ASN (Autonomous System Number) routing prefix.

n.n.n.n – the low 32 bits represent the host identifier.

If the prefix is 0.0.0.0, the address collapses to a pure IPv4 address.

Security mechanisms

IPv8 introduces a “Zone Server” platform that authenticates packets using OAuth2 JWT tokens. Packet egress is validated by two services:

DNS8 resolution

WHOIS8 routing registration

This design aims to provide a stable, ASN‑bound host identifier that does not rely on address‑changing privacy extensions.

Practical challenges

Compatibility is unproven. The draft includes an 8to4 tunneling mechanism for transition, mirroring IPv6’s earlier 6to4 approach. RFC 6343 flagged 6to4 as risky, and RFC 7526 later recommended disabling it, suggesting similar risks for 8to4.

Deployment would require both hardware upgrades and protocol stack changes, incurring costs comparable to the IPv6 rollout.

IPv8 is not compatible with IPv6, just as IPv6 is not compatible with IPv4, raising questions about future hardware support (e.g., a hypothetical “IPv12”).

The IETF chair described the draft as “a waste of everyone’s time,” reflecting limited community support.

Conclusion

IPv8 offers a technically interesting address model that could alleviate IPv4 exhaustion without CGNAT, but its lack of backward compatibility, required infrastructure changes, and the absence of broad industry endorsement make widespread adoption unlikely.

Code example

来源丨
本文来自电手（ID:AoMeiDianShou），未经授权不得二次转载，如有需求请联系微信号：
18884046785
作者丨阿红