open-ipv8-lab 0.12.4

Experimental userspace IPv8 toolkit implementing draft-thain-ipv8-02 — address parsing, packet building, routing simulation, ICMPv8, 8to4 tunnelling, and more.

Open-IPv8-Lab

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).

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Quick Start

# 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

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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

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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

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Testing

pytest -v

1827 tests covering all 58 modules.

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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

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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.