IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack

The IP protocol is responsible for routing the data between networks and it employs an addressing system to achieve this. The Internet protocol version 4 (IPv4) has a number of security problems and lacks privacy and authentication mechanisms below the application layer. IPv6 provided numerous security enhancements, such as mandatory implementation of Authentication Header and Encapsulated Security Payload.

IPv4/IPv6 dual-stack enables applications to choose the protocol to use or automatically select it according to address type. This feature is supported from Symbian OS v7.0s onwards.

Figure 1. IPv4/IPv6 dual-protocol stack

It is possible to establish a secure connection from application to application and also from router to router. Security features implemented in low-level protocols (like IPv6) are automatically available to higher-level protocols and applications.

For more information, see Networking Services Guide .