Security Applications
Network surveillance expands the possible usage of video. Many businesses and multinational corporations have greater demands beyond remote viewing, as they want to conduct controls from headquarters. This will bring new opportunities and challenges for networking. IPv6 requires protocol-compliant signals, as well as compliant devices such as network cameras, servers and more.
As IPv6 rolls out for more network video deployments, several applications will be impacted, such as city surveillance. Many cities in China can have 200,000 monitoring points alone in their video networks, which are likely increase. If each camera used a public IP address, they would take up at least 800 IPv4 class C addresses, which is far from the amount needed. Upgrading to IPv6 meets the need for a vast amount of addresses, as well as eliminating the inconvenience of network address translation (NAT), port forwarding and dynamic addressing. Port-to-port transmission and controls are simpler and easier.
Compared to the amount of networking peripherals required now, IPv6 only requires plugging in the network cable for the system to automatically detect each device's network address and allocate space for them. This simplifies installation and maintenance, as auto-detection updates the back-end management platform on the status of front-end devices, making the setup process smarter. The IPv4 era had to overcome limits in public networks and communication protocols, requiring multiple hops that reduced efficiency and increased transmission time. In these networks, downloads would be delayed about 300 milliseconds, slowing up to 1,000 milliseconds if the network was fully loaded. This induces image lag or delay, among other nuisances. IPv6 overcomes these issues with more accurate addressing and improved transmission efficiency, making wide-area networks perform at local rates. Improved QoS does away with dropped packets and miscoding in IPv4, reducing noisy images. As HD imaging introduces greater amounts of data, IPv6 makes smooth real-time transmission possible.
Safer Surveillance
Current network transmission uses TCP or UDP protocols, with greater risk of hacking and man-in-themiddle attacks. Better safeguards require additional investment into firewalls, gateway and other equipment. IPv6 includes IPSec protocols for enhanced security, providing better reliability and encryption compared to IPv4. IPSec was designed for IPv6 and is optional for IPv4. Encrypted data transmission are less vulnerable to online eavesdropping or deliberate changes, keeping video footage intact.
Internet of Things
The Internet of Things is rapidly developing, but IPv4 inhibits uptake with its shortage of available addresses. Temporary measures such as NAT or network gateways ease the pain, but address exhaustion remains a bottleneck. IPv6 offers significant benefits for the Internet of Things with its 128-bit addresses, simplified headers and automatic detection. This creates a reliable end-to-end network of trusted devices, communicating with secure encrypted transmission.
The usage of the Internet of Things means a device can connect to any other networked device; the connection is also available any time, even for mobile end points. Unlike IPv4, IPv6 mobility automatically reroutes device addresses, requiring no secondary outside device. Without an outside source, an internal link can stay connected to remote endpoints or dynamic addresses, for uninterrupted data transfer.
3-G Applications
Mobile 3-G applications combine real-time services and broadband networking, satisfying multimedia and video transmission needs. A mobile network requires sufficient security and service quality. The development of 3-G has enabled more surveillance devices to transmit data and connect to the Internet.
As IPv4 is limited to addresses on public networks, many 3-G endpoints obtain their IP addresses from private networks. This limitation is overcome with IPv6, which offers more than enough addresses for each mobile device. Auto-addressing in IPv6 simplifies the network infrastructure by staying connected to an authenticated IP address, eliminating switching and disconnection issues. The strong security and QoS from IPv6 enhances video quality, making dynamic IPv6 networking vital for 3-G applications in the future.
Adoption Hurdles
IPv6 offers many advantages, but current uptake in security remains limited. One issue is that network equipment need to support IPv6, from switchers to routers, representing a significant investment upfront. While telecoms and network manufacturers gush about IPv6, few are putting their money where their mouths are. Actual implementation of IPv6 requires equipment upgrades and a financial investment, resulting in few rollouts and more coexistence with IPv4.
From a surveillance point of view, IPv6 affects network integration on the device level. IPv6 compatibility for operating systems is a secondary issue for software integration. IPv6 applications are not practical unless all devices and networks support IPv6 protocols. This goes for hardware such as traditional DVRs, network cameras and NVRs that require native IPv6 functionality, to peripherals such as routers and switches. Finally, the back-end management platform and recording servers all must support IPv6 to truly realize its full potential. As more large-scale IPv6 deployments take place, such as the Beijing Olympic Games, Shanghai World Expo and the World University Games in Shenzhen, the adoption of IPv6 will accelerate for video surveillance.