Why is ip6 better than ip4

IPv4 , the fourth version of the internet protocol, is at a crossroads: Its global IP address supply is exhausted. The internet is undergoing a gradual transition to the next version, IPv6. While IPv4 has nearly 4. This post will examine why the transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is necessary. Then, it will look at progress in the implementation timeline. Finally, it will delve into the specific benefits and challenges of IPv4 vs IPv6.

IP addressing is a logical means of assigning addresses to devices on a network. Each device connected to the internet or intranet requires a unique IP address. IP is part of an internet protocol suite, which also includes the transmission control protocol. The internet protocol suite governs rules for packetizing, addressing, transmitting, routing, and receiving data over networks.

The most common format for IPv4 addresses, known as dotted quad or dotted decimal, is x. These values are separated by periods. For example, IPv4 is also constrained by a bit address space that limits the number of unique hosts to 2 That equates to nearly 4. IANA then recovered additional unused IPv4 address blocks from the regional registries and created a recovered address pool. In , IANA announced that it was redistributing the last addresses in the recovered address pool.

To address this problem, the internet has been undergoing a gradual transition to IPv6. IPv6 addresses are written in groups of four hexadecimal digits using digits plus letters A-F separated by colons e. Think about it this way: Can you imagine the chaos if someone else also has your phone number? Devices connected to an IP network have the same problem. Every networked device has a unique IP address for good reason. While the Domain Name System DNS can spot duplicate IPs, the time and effort necessary to constantly sort out issues makes strong allocation control from a sole organizing body mandatory.

This includes phones, printers, computers, tablets, appliances, and Internet of Things IoT devices such as smart doorbells and security cameras. Each of these needs a unique IP address. Furthermore, many IPv4 addresses are reserved for special purposes. About 18 million IPv4 addresses were set aside for private addressing, drawn from a range known as RFC Most organizations use private addresses on internal networks.

Another million are dedicated multicast addresses, used to send messages to many devices simultaneously. Laying hands on some of the few remaining IPv4 addresses can be expensive. IPv4 offers 12 header fields whereas IPv6 offers 8 header fields. Features of IPv4 Following are the features of IPv4: Connectionless Protocol Allow creating a simple virtual communication layer over diversified devices It requires less memory, and ease of remembering addresses Already supported protocol by millions of devices Offers video libraries and conferences.

Features of IPv6 Here are the features of IPv6: Hierarchical addressing and routing infrastructure Stateful and Stateless configuration Support for quality of service QoS An ideal protocol for neighboring node interaction. Report a Bug. Previous Prev. Next Continue. Home Testing Expand child menu Expand. SAP Expand child menu Expand. Web Expand child menu Expand.

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It is the underlying technology that makes it possible for us to connect our devices to the web. Whenever a device accesses the Internet, it is assigned a unique, numerical IP address such as To send data from one computer to another through the web, a data packet must be transferred across the network containing the IP addresses of both devices.

It functions similarly to IPv4 in that it provides the unique IP addresses necessary for Internet-enabled devices to communicate. However, it does have one significant difference: it utilizes a bit IP address. IPv4 uses a bit address for its Internet addresses. That may seem like a lot, but all 4. IPv6 utilizes bit Internet addresses.

The number of IPv6 addresses is times larger than the number of IPv4 addresses. So there are more than enough IPv6 addresses to allow for Internet devices to expand for a very long time.