Dual Stack Host Discovery via IPv4 Sweep

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional host discovery techniques, such as PING sweeps, become impractical in large network address spaces like IPv6 due to the vast number of potential addresses, making it inefficient to discover hosts in networks with a large address space.

Innovation Solution

The implementation of a dual stack network that supports both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses allows for host discovery using the IPv4 address space to identify hosts in the IPv6 space, utilizing ICMP ECHO request and reply packets to obtain IPv6 addresses from nodes responsive to IPv4 address sweeps.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If conventional host discovery techniques (PING sweep) are used in large network address spaces like IPv6, then complete host discovery can be achieved, but the time required becomes impractically long (millennia for full IPv6 sweep)

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvehost discovery completenessVSAvoidhost discovery time

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses IPv4 address space as an intermediary to discover hosts in IPv6 address space. Instead of directly sweeping the vast IPv6 address space, the system performs PING sweeps on IPv4 addresses and uses the dual-stack capability to map responsive IPv4 addresses to their corresponding IPv6 addresses, thereby indirectly discovering IPv6 hosts without traversing the entire IPv6 address space

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent transitions from operating within a single address space dimension (IPv6 only) to utilizing multiple address space dimensions (both IPv4 and IPv6). By leveraging the dual-stack network configuration, the system performs host discovery in the smaller IPv4 dimension and maps results to the larger IPv6 dimension, effectively reducing the discovery time while maintaining completeness

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Quantity of substance

If the network address space is expanded to support more hosts (IPv6 with 128-bit addresses), then the number of uniquely identifiable hosts increases, but conventional host discovery techniques become impracticable

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvenumber of hostsVSAvoidhost discovery feasibility

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the host discovery process into two distinct phases: first performing discovery in the smaller IPv4 address space, then mapping results to the larger IPv6 address space. This segmentation allows the system to handle the large quantity of IPv6 hosts by breaking down the discovery task into manageable steps using the dual-stack capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses IPv4 address space as an intermediary medium to facilitate host discovery in IPv6 space. The dual-stack network configuration enables hosts to be reachable via both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, allowing the discovery process to occur in the more manageable IPv4 dimension while ultimately identifying IPv6 hosts

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS8072975B2Host discovery across different address spaces

Publication Date: 2011.12.06 DELL PROD LP

AI summary

The “dual stack” capability of a network supporting two or more address spaces is used to perform host discovery in the network address space of one network address format using the network address space of another network format (e.g., via a PING sweep in the network address space of the other network format). The host discovery can be performed using addressing in a smaller network address space (e.g., IPv4 network address format) to discover hosts in a larger network address space (e.g., IPv6 network address format), or vice versa.