We believe that IT is changing and will keep changing the way we live and of course our future. IoT (Internet of Things) has been a major topic of discussion, especially in 2014.

Everyone predicts that in the near future almost everything will be connected to the Internet and will have its own IP address. Connectivity not only includes PCs, laptops, tablets, and smartphone, but coffee machines, refrigerators, TVs, washing machines, microwaves ovens, cookers, closets, etc…

I am afraid that one day the refrigerator will refuse to open because it reads my mind about wanting chocolates and finds that I am overweight. The next day my car will not drive me home, but to the local gym after checking my schedule and finding some free time. Then it will kick me out saying, “Go do some exercises, your extra weight consumes more fuel, and my chassis will not endure until next summer!” Thank goodness it is just a dream right now. I do not even own a car and will never think about buying a smart internet connected refrigerator, simply because it is very expensive.

In this article I will share my thoughts and raise questions about IP addressing related to IoT’s future:

BitCherry | IP addressing issues related to the future of the Internet of things (IoT):

In 2012, the number of Internet-connected devices exceeded the number of people on earth, and about 25 billion objects will be Internet-connected by 2020. The numbers are amazing, but in order for IoT to reach its full potential I think we will need more IP addresses than we are currently anticipating.

If we look back to the 90’s Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, aka the “Father of the Internet”, showed up with his T-shirt “IP on Everything”. He had a strong vision about IP and the way we should use it. So how can IoT reach its full potential?

IPv6 is the most promising solution right now. When IPv4 was introduced no one imagined the future size of the Internet. IPv4 only had the capacity to handle 4.3 billion addresses, while Ipv6 can handle about 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 address. 

Will IPv6 be enough for IoT devices and objects? Until now it seemed the answer was yes. But what about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow?

In most of today’s IoT systems, sensors collect data and use wireless connectivity to forward it to the controllers. The controllers which are IP-Enabled gather the raw data and forward it across an IP network to the online application in order to process the data, which allows individuals to access the controller remotely. Many sensors are connected to one controller, which connects to the IP network using a IP address. This means many sensors share one IP address. Now there are IP-Enabled sensors that support TCP/IP, which removes the need for a controller. Will that start a new model where sensors and controllers are combined in one system, like a wearable PC? If so this will increase the demands of new IP addresses.

For example, in agriculture instead of one weather station for the whole orchard, maybe every tree will have its own internet connected microcomputer device, which will have a lot of sensors and data collected by those sensors, sent over WLAN or the Internet to farmer system software which manages the orchard. This means every tree will have an IP address to connect to the WLAN and the internet. I don’t think that will be limited to orchards only. Cattle farms already use simple wireless sensors to report the temperature of the cattle and detect illnesses early. Maybe every cow in the future will wear its own computing device, so it will need its own IP address. Maybe in the future we will see new technologies like: COIP (Cattle over IP), TOIP (Tree over IP) & POIP (Pet over IP).

BitCherry | With the demand for new IP addresses, is IPv6 enough?

In order to solve these issues, BitCherry firstly proposed, the block chain network protocol built on IPv8 technology. The size of an IPv8 address is 512 bits, compared to IPv6 (128 bits) and IPv4 (32 bits). The address space therefore estimated has 2^512 = 13407807929942597099574024998205846127479365820592393377723561443721764030073546976801874298166903427690031858186486050853753882811946569946433649006084096 address which enough for every single thing on earth to have IP Address.

In order to ensure privacy of data transmission and malicious nodes, different with the traditional P2P network protocols, The P2P+ network protocol uses a point-to-point high-strength private key encryption technology. The transmitted content is encrypted, and only the receiving node can decrypt it, ensuring the confidentiality of the transmitted content and node privacy. The public-private key mechanism can be used not only to encrypt the communication process, but also to authorize access through signatures. Unlike the SSL certificate system and account/password method adopted by OpenSSN, P2P+ authorizes network reads/writes of 8-bit virtual IP addresses and identifies them by the public key signature of the virtual IP addresses to prevent false IP address attacks.

BitCherry P2Plus work on more underlying IP network layer and the data link layer (which can work simultaneously in Host and router), so P2Plus can easily penetrate any network, firewall, and network fence, greatly improving the accessibility of data transmission.

As it can be seen above, Huawei New IP and BitCherry IPv8 have some similarities like:

1. Background: Both are based on the disadvantages of the traditional Internet, which exist in the background that the traditional Internet is unable to support the connection of massive, networked subjects, has low transmission efficiency, instability, and is prone to attacks.

2. Objective: Both are committed to build a more secure, efficient, and open internet, supporting the interconnection of all networks, the interconnection of all things, and precise transmission. It has the characteristics of flexible addressing, efficient operation, safety, and efficiency.

When the reality of traditional internet increasingly becoming unstable, we believe there will be more new technologies that will build with BitCherry for a better future, we also believe, this technology of BitCherry, will become the most dazzling star. The release of new IP will also have a more active role in the development of BitCherry, the two will work together to accelerate the upgrade of the Internet. Let us look forward to the arrival of web3.0 together!

Explore BitCherry Official Website to know more about IPv8 : https://www.bitcherry.io/