What is IPv6?

Introduction to IPv6

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol, which is the set of rules for identifying devices on a network and routing traffic across the internet. It was developed to overcome the limitations of IPv4, primarily the exhaustion of available addresses.

Why IPv6 Was Introduced

IPv4, the predecessor of IPv6, uses 32-bit addresses and can support about 4.3 billion unique IP addresses. With the rapid growth of the internet, IoT (Internet of Things), and mobile devices, this pool of addresses was not enough.

IPv6 solves this by using 128-bit addresses, offering an unimaginable number of unique addresses—approximately 3.4×10³⁸.

Structure of IPv6 Address

An IPv6 address is written in hexadecimal and separated by colons, for example:
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

It consists of 8 groups of 4 hexadecimal digits. Leading zeroes can be omitted, and a double colon "::" can be used once to represent consecutive zero groups for simplification.

Benefits of IPv6

• Larger Address Space: Virtually unlimited IP addresses for future growth.
• Improved Security: IPv6 was designed with IPsec (Internet Protocol Security) in mind.
• Efficient Routing: Simplified and hierarchical address structure improves performance.
• No More NAT: With enough addresses for every device, Network Address Translation becomes unnecessary.
• Better Multicast and Anycast Capabilities: Enhances streaming and service distribution.

IPv6 vs. IPv4

Challenges with IPv6 Adoption

Despite its advantages, IPv6 adoption has been slow due to:

• Existing investment in IPv4 infrastructure.
• Compatibility concerns and transitional complexities.
• Lack of immediate, visible benefits for end-users.