I’m sure a lot of people are sitting around on any given day thinking “You know what the world needs? A brand new IP protocol.”

If that’s you, then your prayers have been answered.  A brand-new Draft titled “Internet Protocol Version 8 (IPv8)” just landed.

Technically, IPv8 Already Existed

Historically, IPv8 was already assigned back in the 1990s to something called the P Internet Protocol (PIP), which never took off.  Version 7 was also assigned at one time, and had a lovely acronym: TCP and UDP over Bigger Addresses = TUBA.  I kind of wish that had gone forward just for all the great memes.

The IP version field is only 4 bits, meaning there are only 16 possible versions (0–15), so at this rate we’re going to run out of possible protocols soon.

This New IPv8 Draft

The new draft (by a single author, not an IETF working group) describes IPv8 as a fully managed network protocol suite, designed to unify routing, authentication, DNS, telemetry, and access control around a central concept called a “Zone Server”.  It uses OAuth2 tokens – more on that in a moment – for device authorization and is 100% backward compatible with IPv4 (IPv4 is a subset of IPv8).

Along the way, it’s going to rewrite BGP, OSPF, ICMP, and ARP, and give us WHOIS8, DNS8, and DHCP8.

Strangely, IPv6 is barely mentioned.  I guess the intent is to replace IPv6?  Instructions unclear.

Like, Wow, Dude

The draft claims:

no existing device or application requires modification

…but the protocol simultaneously requires new socket APIs, new routing protocols, new DNS record types, and more.

The big thing is that it’s a very centralized control model.  The “Zone Servers” involved act as authoritative control points, enforcing mandatory authentication for devices.  It’s like taking enterprise NAC (network access control) and baking it into layer 2.

A Lead Balloon

The response has been… less than positive.  It’s very complex an unrealistic.  There’s some criticism that this has been “vibe-drafted” (generated by AI).

Indeed, as one critic noted:

IP is what, four layers of protocols lower than OAuth?

There’s been a long history of “fix the Internet” proposals going back decades that never left the draft stage.  Like politics, Internet protocols are the art of the possible.  If we could clean sheet the entire global networking stack, sure, we could fix all kinds of things.  Some of the most successful protocols in history have warts.

But these kind of big bang changes rarely are adopted.  The cost is just too high.

Inn this case, either the author is deluded enough to think the world’s network will be recreated from scratch based on his ideas, or he wants something to put on his resume.

Can I get the Polymarket “no” on this?

The only real story here is that yet another avenue of human discussion is being invaded by AI slop.

raindog308

raindog308 is a longtime community LETizen, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.

As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, raindog308 runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.

Beyond the command line, raindog308 has a life-long love of German Shepherd Dogs, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, playing guitar, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.

His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.

You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.