An attempts to build a hybrid between IPv4 and IPv6, improving on both. Large address space, but readable addresses.
The problem with IPv6: Something like this:
2001:db8:2e1:1a73:149f:88ff:fe81:6116
...is absolutely not readable by a human. Not memorizable either.
Example IP-FF addresses:
192.168.510.971.11
10.0.0.0.1
382.201.769.25.133
IP version 5 "Five Fields" (IP-FF) is a new version of the Internet Protocol, designed as the successor to IP version 4 (IPv4) [RFC-791] and IP version 6 [RFC-2460], combining many features of both, removing unnecessary and adding new, and optimizing the old. A hybrid between the two, plus plus.
The changes from IPv4 to IPFF fall primarily into the following categories:
o Expanded Addressing Capabilities
IPFF increases the IP address size from 32 bits to 50 bits, to
support more levels of addressing hierarchy, a much greater
number of addressable nodes, yet keeping the familiar way.
That over 230,000x times more than in IPv4 and should be enough
for the next several hundred years or so...
So even if humanity grows to 100 billion people in few hundred
years from now, each can have 10,000 devices, before we deplete
our address space.
o Header Format Simplification
Some IPv4 header fields have been dropped or made optional, to
reduce the common-case processing cost of packet handling and
to limit the bandwidth cost of the IPFF header. Derived from
IPv6. IPFF goes even further by eliminating "Fragmentation",
which improves NAT-router processing speeds, and simplifies
implementations.
o Improved Support for Extensions and Options
Changes in the way IP header options are encoded allows for
more efficient forwarding, less stringent limits on the length
of options, and greater flexibility for introducing new options
in the future. Derived from IPv6.
o Virtual Router Forwarding (VRF) / Layer 3 VPN extension
o Mobile IP problem has an order of magnitude simpler solution;
see [Mobile TCP]
Dropped features, compared to IPv4:
o Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) now became Link Address
Resolution Algorithm (LARA). It is now computed on the CPU.
o Fragmentation, as it was proven (in IPv6) that it is cheaper to
do an MTU discovery, rather than fragment packets on each hop.
Hosts should use either MTU path discovery or fallback to 1280
MTU. In IPFF, fragmentation is completely eliminated.
This increases router processing speed and NAT performance,
and simplifies TCP/IP stack.
o IP Header checksums, as it was proven (in IPv6), that upper
layer protocols can handle it checksums and compute them
end-to-end, rather than hop-by-hop. This increases router
processing speed.
o Classes / classful networks.
o Broadcasts. Multicasts are effectively more efficient versions
of those, just filtered at a different layer.
o Internet Group Management Protocol, is now optional.
The changes from IPv6 to IPFF fall primarily into the following categories:
o Human readable, simple addressing, similar to IPv4, in 5
fields. 10-bits per field. 50-bit addressing.
With 3 decimal digits in each field, and familiar dotted
decimal notation. examples: 10.0.0.0.1 and 382.201.769.25.133
o Easy migration from existing IPv4 networks.
o Improved efficiency: an IPFF packet is smaller than IPv6, at 20
bytes, same as in IPv4, saving bandwidth compared to IPv6.
o Virtual Router Forwarding (VRF) / Layer 3 VPN extension
o Mobile IP problem has an order of magnitude simpler solution;
see [Mobile TCP]
Dropped features, compared to IPv6:
o Modularization: many components, that were the "core" of IPv6
specification now became optional or eliminated.
(NDP/IGMP/MLD/SLAAC/IPsec/Flow/Fragmentation/Link-Local...)
o Fragmentation.
In IPFF, fragmentation is completely eliminated.
This increases NAT performance and simplifies TCP/IP stack.
Hosts should use either MTU path discovery or fallback to 1280
MTU.
o Flow Labeling Capability is now optional extension.
o Link-local addresses are optional; no longer needed.
o Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP), divided into Link Address
Resolution Algorithm (LARA), and optional extensions.
o Stateless Auto-address configuration (SLAAC) is now optional.
Similar functionality should be provided by DHCPv5 or other
services.
o Internet Group Management Protocol,(IPv6 MLD) is now optional.
Other important changes in the IPFF stack, vs both IPv4 and IPv6:
o In UDPv5 removed "Length" field in order to reduce overhead.
o DNSv5 defines a new "AA" record type.
o New Mode: "Silent Multicast Listeners", which combines some of
the benefits of multicasts and some of the benefits of
broadcasts. In this mode, Multicast listener accepts only
traffic targeted at his IP & Layer 2 address, but does not
advertise over IGMP. In this new multicast mode, IGMP protocol
is not needed.
Details in [IPFF-ADDRARCH]