Network-Layer Protocol Substituting IPv6

We propose a new network-layer protocol for expanding the IP address space of the Internet. This new protocol is a legitimate extension of IPv4 without rapturing the IPv4 framework. Same-sized duplicate(s) of the existing internet—each being called a Network Block—will be created;

• each Network Block will be assigned an identifying IP address called Block Address;
• a new IPv4 option will hold the IP addresses needed for addressing hosts in another Network Block;
• the Network Blocks will be connected to each other via Super Gateways, and data packets are delivered to their destination Network Blocks through Super Routing, which is a cooperation process of Super Gateways. By using this new protocol, new Network Blocks can be seamlessly connected to the existing Internet—which can be called the Old Block—without upgrading the routers;
• users of a new Network Block can visit the Old Block even before the latter upgrades to the new protocol, thereby resolving the IPv6 transition deadlock.
• This new protocol can be called Ultra-Link Internet Protocol (ULIP), which is made of the following methods:
• (1) Block Address:
• the entry address of a Network Block. Before a data packet entering a Network Block, the last IP address that it passes through is normally the Block Address of this Network Block. A data packet that starts and ends within the same Network Block will not go through any Block Address.
• (2) Super Gateway:
• the special gateway that links two Network Blocks. The two ports of a Super Gateway must have different IP addresses:
• each of them must be the Block Address of the Network Block on the other side of the Super Gateway.
• (3) Network Block Group:
• a cluster of Network Blocks among which all Network Blocks pairs are linked by Super Gateways. Low-traffic Super Gateways between two Network Block Groups can be omitted to reduce cost without cutting the connections.
• (4) ULIP Option:
• a new IPv4 option. This is the only change that ULIP makes to the IPv4 header. The ULIP Option is used to store the IP addresses and other auxiliary information that a data packet needs when being sent between Network Blocks.
• (5) Super Routing:
• the process that a data packet is sent across Network Blocks by cooperating Super Gateways.
• (6) Proxy Super Gateway:
• a special gateway connected between two Network Blocks to serve the Super Gateway. A Proxy Super Gateway is the same as the Super Gateway it serves, except that its two ports are not given Block Addresses.
• (7) Routing Security Stamp:
• a 32-bit code stored in the ULIP option, which is part of ULIP's security mechanism.
• (8) Super Gateway Management Protocol (SGMP):
• an auxiliary protocol for managing Super Gateways.