Open-IPv8-Lab
May 15, 2026 · View on GitHub
Experimental userspace toolkit implementing draft-thain-ipv8-02 — the Internet Protocol Version 8 specification. 58 modules, 35 CLI commands, 1827 tests.
Educational project. Not an official IPv8 implementation, not production networking software.
Created and maintained by Aleksei Aleinikov (@LF3551).
Demo
CLI Overview — address parsing, packet building, hex dump
Traceroute8 — linear, diamond, loop detection, multi-path
Quick Start
# Install with Homebrew (macOS)
brew tap LF3551/open-ipv8-lab https://github.com/LF3551/Open-IPv8-Lab
brew install LF3551/open-ipv8-lab/open-ipv8-lab
# Install
python -m venv .venv && source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Parse an IPv8 address
ipv8lab addr parse 64496.192.0.2.1
# Build a packet
ipv8lab packet build --src 64496.192.0.2.1 --dst 64497.198.51.100.7 --payload "hello"
# Routing simulation
ipv8lab route simulate --config examples/two_asn_demo.yaml
# Zone Server lifecycle
ipv8lab zone init --prefix 127.1.0.0
ipv8lab zone status --json
# Security filtering
ipv8lab ilinkprot bgp8 64496.222.0.0.1
ipv8lab prefixenf check 64496.10.1.0.0 24 --peer-asn 64497
# WHOIS8 registry
ipv8lab whois8 register 64496 "Example Corp" --rir ARIN
ipv8lab whois8 lookup 64496
# Export to Wireshark
ipv8lab pcap demo -o demo.pcap
ipv8lab pcap dissector -o ipv8_dissector.lua
# JSON output on any command
ipv8lab addr parse 64496.192.0.2.1 --json
➜ More examples — 10 step-by-step walkthroughs
Features
Core Protocol Stack
| Feature | CLI | Spec |
|---|---|---|
| IPv8 64-bit addressing (ASN prefix + host) | ipv8lab addr | §3, 4, 6 |
| 28-byte packet header | ipv8lab packet | §5.1 |
| Packet fragmentation / reassembly | ipv8lab frag | §5.1 |
| Two-tier routing with VRF | ipv8lab route | §8.7, 8.8 |
| ICMPv8 (Echo, Unreachable, Redirect) | — | §9 |
| Multicast / anycast / broadcast | — | §10–12 |
| 8to4 tunnelling | — | §13.3 |
| DNS A8 records (even/odd pair) | — | §7 |
Zone Server & Services
| Feature | CLI | Spec |
|---|---|---|
| Zone Server (OAuth8, ACL8, DHCP8) | ipv8lab zone | §1.3, 1.4 |
| Multi-zone simulation | ipv8lab multizone | — |
| mTLS encryption layer | ipv8lab mtls | — |
| Cloud Provider VPC mapping | ipv8lab vpc | §17 |
Routing & Traffic
| Feature | CLI | Spec |
|---|---|---|
| BGP8 path selection with CF metric | ipv8lab bgp8 | §8.4 |
| Cost Factor (7-component metric) | ipv8lab cf | §1.6 |
| XLATE8 north-south traffic flow | ipv8lab xlate8 | §1.4 |
| XLATE8 Even/Odd Load Balancing | ipv8lab xlate8lb | §15.1 |
| NAT8 address translation | ipv8lab nat8 | — |
| CGNAT Behaviour simulation | ipv8lab cgnat | §15 |
| ARP8-driven version selection | ipv8lab arp8 | §2 |
| Inter-Company Interop | ipv8lab interop | §4.6–4.7 |
Security & Compliance
| Feature | CLI | Spec |
|---|---|---|
| RINE Prefix Protection (100.x.x.x) | ipv8lab rineprot | §19.3 |
| Interior Link Protection (222.0.0.0/8) | ipv8lab ilinkprot | §19.4 |
| /16 Minimum Prefix Enforcement | ipv8lab prefixenf | §19.7 |
| Border router ingress filtering | — | §18 |
| Device compliance tiers | — | §17.1–17.3 |
| PVRST spanning tree | — | §17.4 |
| NIC rate limits | — | §17.5 |
Companion Protocols
| Feature | CLI | Draft |
|---|---|---|
| WHOIS8 protocol (server, client, HMAC signing) | ipv8lab whois8 | whois8-00 |
| NetLog8 protocol (wire framing, collector, relay) | ipv8lab netlog8proto | netlog8-00 |
| BGP8, OSPF8, IS-IS8, RINE, ARP8, XLATE8, WiFi8, SNMPv8 | — | 7 companion drafts |
Operations & Tooling
| Feature | CLI |
|---|---|
| PCAP export for Wireshark | ipv8lab pcap |
| Traceroute8 diagnostic | ipv8lab traceroute |
| NetFlow8 flow monitoring | ipv8lab netflow8 |
| QoS / traffic shaping | ipv8lab qos |
| Packet fuzzer | ipv8lab fuzz |
| Docker multi-node testbed | ipv8lab docker |
| TUI dashboard (Textual) | ipv8lab tui |
| Web dashboard | ipv8lab dashboard |
| Performance benchmarks | ipv8lab bench |
| Packet capture / replay | ipv8lab capture |
| Socket API mock (AF_INET8) | ipv8lab socket |
| Address Usage Model table | ipv8lab usage |
| Interior Link Convention | ipv8lab ilink |
Example Output
$ ipv8lab addr parse 64496.192.0.2.1
Input 64496.192.0.2.1
Format ASN dot notation
ASN 64496
Routing prefix 0.0.251.240
Host part 192.0.2.1
Full notation 0.0.251.240.192.0.2.1
Testing
pytest -v
1827 tests covering all 58 modules.
Documentation
| Doc | Description |
|---|---|
| Examples | 10 step-by-step walkthroughs |
| CLI Reference | All 35 commands with usage examples |
| Python API | Using ipv8lab as a Python library |
| Spec Coverage | Full draft-thain-ipv8-02 mapping |
| Architecture | Module categories & dependencies |
| Overview | Project overview |
| Addressing | IPv8 address format (Sections 3, 4, 6) |
| Packet Format | 28-byte header (Section 5.1) |
| Routing Simulator | Two-tier routing (Sections 8.7, 8.8) |
| Testbed | Local testbed setup |
| Glossary | Key terms and abbreviations |
| FAQ | Frequently asked questions & troubleshooting |
| Roadmap | Version history & future plans |
| Changelog | Release-by-release changes |
License
Apache License 2.0 · SPDX: Apache-2.0
Attribution
IPv8 Lab — Copyright 2026 Aleksei Aleinikov
https://github.com/LF3551/Open-IPv8-Lab
Use, modification, and distribution are permitted under the Apache License 2.0, provided that the original copyright notice and the NOTICE file are preserved. Attribution to Aleksei Aleinikov (@LF3551) must remain intact.