Definition
IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP), a system for identifying and locating devices on the Internet. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) introduced it to provide a larger address space to accommodate the growing number of Internet-enabled devices.
Unlike IPv4’s 32-bit addressing, IPv6 employs a 128-bit address scheme, vastly increasing the number of possible unique addresses.
IPv6 Benefits
- Address format: IPv6 addresses are written as eight groups of hexadecimal digits, separated by a colon. This allows for a significantly vast address space of approximately 3.4 x 10˄38 unique addresses, compared to IPv4, which can only accommodate 4.3 billion addresses.
- Autoconfiguration: IPv6’s stateless address autoconfiguration (SLAAC) feature enables devices to access network settings and establish their IPv6 addresses automatically.
- Mobility support: IPv6 provides better support for mobile devices, enabling them to retain a permanent IP address even after changing their location or network.
- Enhanced security: IPv6 supports IPSec protocol, providing end-to-end encryption and authentication for secure communication on the internet.