Study of a Potential Single Point Household Communications Product Utilizing Internet Protocol

摘要

The future of networking technology and the Internet offer a great deal of promise. The potential is forthcoming as newer hardware technology and higher bandwidth capable protocols are designed and implemented. This thesis investigates the possibility of utilizing existing hardware with presently available software to create a practical communication package for the household. The household communication package or home communicator is the network core of the household linking television, telephone, and web browsing capability into one system. The home communicator would receive an incoming television, telephone and Internet signal via optical fiber from a single service provider. This thesis investigates Linux as the home communicator operating system with Internet Protocol version 6 as the network protocol. Linux is examined for its proficiency at being a capable customer oriented operating system. Additional Linux compatible applications are studied to include web browsing, e-mail, chat and simple text editing. Finally, IPv6 is compared to IPv4 for possible enhancement of the home communicator. Individual aspects of IPv6 are investigated for additional security and better bandwidth. Linux with IPv6 was found to be an acceptable software package for the home communicator. There are several major issues preventing an easy solution. A portion of the functionality must be attained through the Internet Service Provider.