IPv6, the latest standard set by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), expands and supplements the capabilities of IPv4. IPv6 uses a 128-bit address field, which provides 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 a dual IPv4 and IPv6 TCP/IP stack, it can handle both IPv4 and IPv6 protocols and is highly optimized for performance-critical embedded devices. Its modular architecture lets designers customizes various components based on system requirements. NetX Duo APIs are fully backward compatible with the IPv4 services. NetX Duo answers the need for expanded IP capabilities while also supporting legacy needs at the same time.
To obtain IPv6-Ready Logo certification, a network stack must pass conformance and interoperability tests, administered and validated by the IPv6 Forum. There are two phases of testing, Phase-I and Phase-II. Phase-I is relatively basic and limited to verification of select IPv6 capabilities. Phase-II is much more rigorous and extensive, and is a superset of Phase-I.
Express Logic chose to seek Phase-II approval, which required NetX Duo to pass an extremely challenging set of 373 test cases, which cover the following RFCs:
- RFC 2460 - IPv6 Specification
- RFC 4861 - Neighbor Discovery for IPv6
- RFC 4862 - IPv6 Stateless Address Autoconfiguration
- RFC 1981 - Path MTU Discovery for IPv6
- RFC 4443 - ICMPv6
The Phase-II Interoperability tests ensure that the implementation is able to work with other devices and routers. This test requires setting up a test network with multiple routers and hosts, and to validate that NetX Duo follows the IPv6 standard and correctly interacts with other hosts and routers.
NetX Duo has successfully performed these tests and has received official IPv6-Ready Logo certification, enabling Express Logic to join a select, small group of embedded software companies who can proudly display the IPv6 Ready logo, indicating that they have completed this rigorous testing and validation process.