In
computer networking
A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. In order to communicate, the computers and devices must be connected by wired media like copper cables, optical fibers, or b ...
, a softwire protocol is a type of
tunneling protocol
In computer networks, a tunneling protocol is a communication protocol which allows for the movement of data from one network to another. They can, for example, allow private network communications to be sent across a public network (such as the ...
that creates a virtual "wire" that transparently encapsulates another protocol as if it was an anonymous point-to-point low-level link. Softwires are used for various purposes, one of which is to carry
IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the first version of the Internet Protocol (IP) as a standalone specification. It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet and other packet-switched networks. ...
traffic over
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communication protocol, communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic ...
and vice versa, in order to support
IPv6 transition mechanism
An IPv6 transition mechanism is a technology that facilitates the transitioning of the Internet from the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) infrastructure in use since 1983 to the successor addressing and routing system of Internet Protocol Ver ...
s.
References
External links
IETF Softwire working group
Computer networking
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