Socket-Based Network Identifier for IPv4 Address Exhaustion
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The growing number of computing devices in wired networks is leading to a shortage of available IPv4 addresses, known as IPv4 address exhaustion, as each device requires a unique IP address for communication, limiting the number of possible addresses to 4,294,967,296.
Innovation Solution
Assigning a socket-based unique network identifier that combines an IP address with one or more ports, allowing multiple devices to share the same IP address by utilizing unused ports, thereby extending the usefulness of one IP address across multiple devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each network device is assigned a unique IPv4 address, then network communication reliability is ensured, but the number of available addresses is limited to 4,294,967,296, leading to address exhaustion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the traditional single IP address identifier into two components: a shared IP address and a unique port number. This segmentation allows multiple devices to share one IP address while maintaining unique identification through different port assignments, effectively expanding the addressable device count beyond the 4.3 billion IP address limit.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the IP address universal by allowing it to serve multiple devices simultaneously. Instead of dedicating one IP address to one device, the same IP address can be assigned to multiple devices with different port numbers, enabling one IP address to perform the identification function for many devices.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple devices share the same IP address using port assignments, then IPv4 address exhaustion is mitigated, but network device complexity increases due to port management requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service mechanisms where the system automatically manages port assignments and resolutions. The network infrastructure handles the complexity of mapping port numbers to specific devices, eliminating the need for manual configuration and reducing the burden on network administrators despite the increased number of addressable devices.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for assigning unique network identifiers in a packet-switched wired network and methods for communicating with a network device in a packet-switched wired network are provided. A request for a unique network identifier for a network device is received. A socket-based unique network identifier, including an IP address and one or more ports, is assigned to the network device. The unique network identifier is created by combining an IP address and one or more ports. This allows multiple unique network identifiers to be created from a single IP address, where each unique network identifier consists of the same IP address combined with a different group of one or more ports.