Difference Between Ipv4 And Ipv6 In Computer Network
What’s the Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6? – Guru99
What is IP?
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the IP protocol for communication. An IP address acts as an identifier for a specific device on a particular network. The IP address is also called an IP number or Internet address.
IP address specifies the technical format of the addressing and packets scheme. Most networks combine IP with a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol). It also allows developing a virtual connection between a destination and a source.
Now in this IPv4 and IPv6 difference tutorial, we will learn What is IPv4 and IPv6?
What is IPv4?
IPv4 is an IP version widely used to identify devices on a network using an addressing system. It was the first version of IP deployed for production in the ARPANET in 1983. It uses a 32-bit address scheme to store 2^32 addresses which is more than 4 billion addresses. It is considered the primary Internet Protocol and carries 94% of Internet traffic.
What is IPv6?
IPv6 is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol. This new IP address version is being deployed to fulfill the need for more Internet addresses. It was aimed to resolve issues that are associated with IPv4. With 128-bit address space, it allows 340 undecillion unique address space. IPv6 is also called IPng (Internet Protocol next generation).
Internet Engineer Taskforce initiated it in early 1994. The design and development of that suite are now called IPv6.
KEY DIFFERENCE
IPv4 is 32-Bit IP address whereas IPv6 is a 128-Bit IP address.
IPv4 is a numeric addressing method whereas IPv6 is an alphanumeric addressing method.
IPv4 binary bits are separated by a dot(. ) whereas IPv6 binary bits are separated by a colon(:).
IPv4 offers 12 header fields whereas IPv6 offers 8 header fields.
IPv4 supports broadcast whereas IPv6 doesn’t support broadcast.
IPv4 has checksum fields while IPv6 doesn’t have checksum fields
When we compare IPv4 and IPv6, IPv4 supports VLSM (Variable Length Subnet Mask) whereas IPv6 doesn’t support VLSM.
IPv4 uses ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) to map to MAC address whereas IPv6 uses NDP (Neighbour Discovery Protocol) to map to MAC address.
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
IPv4 vs IPv6
Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6 Addresses
IPv4 & IPv6 are both IP addresses that are binary numbers. Comparing IPv6 vs IPv4, IPv4 is 32 bit binary number while IPv6 is 128 bit binary number address. IPv4 address are separated by periods while IPv6 address are separated by colons.
Both are used to identify machines connected to a network. In principle, they are the same, but they are different in how they work. Below are the main differences between IPv4 and IPv6:
Basis for differences
IPv4
IPv6
Size of IP address
IPv4 is a 32-Bit IP Address.
IPv6 is 128 Bit IP Address.
Addressing method
IPv4 is a numeric address, and its binary bits are separated by a dot (. )
IPv6 is an alphanumeric address whose binary bits are separated by a colon (:). It also contains hexadecimal.
Number of header fields
12
8
Length of header filed
20
40
Checksum
Has checksum fields
Does not have checksum fields
Example
12. 244. 233. 165
2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:ff00:0042:7879
Type of Addresses
Unicast, broadcast, and multicast.
Unicast, multicast, and anycast.
Number of classes
IPv4 offers five different classes of IP Address. Class A to E.
lPv6 allows storing an unlimited number of IP Address.
Configuration
You have to configure a newly installed system before it can communicate with other systems.
In IPv6, the configuration is optional, depending upon on functions needed.
VLSM support
IPv4 support VLSM (Variable Length Subnet mask).
IPv6 does not offer support for VLSM.
Fragmentation
Fragmentation is done by sending and forwarding routes.
Fragmentation is done by the sender.
Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
RIP is a routing protocol supported by the routed daemon.
RIP does not support IPv6. It uses static routes.
Network Configuration
Networks need to be configured either manually or with DHCP. IPv4 had several overlays to handle Internet growth, which require more maintenance efforts.
IPv6 support autoconfiguration capabilities.
Best feature
Widespread use of NAT (Network address translation) devices which allows single NAT address can mask thousands of
non-routable addresses, making end-to-end
integrity achievable.
It allows direct addressing because of vast address
Space.
Address Mask
Use for the designated network from host portion.
Not used.
SNMP
SNMP is a protocol used for system management.
SNMP does not support IPv6.
Mobility & Interoperability
Relatively constrained network topologies to which move restrict mobility and interoperability capabilities.
IPv6 provides interoperability and mobility
capabilities which are embedded in network devices.
Security
Security is dependent on applications – IPv4 was not designed with security in mind.
IPSec(Internet Protocol Security) is built into the IPv6 protocol, usable with
a proper key infrastructure.
Packet size
Packet size 576 bytes required, fragmentation optional
1208 bytes required without fragmentation
Packet fragmentation
Allows from routers and sending host
Sending hosts only
Packet header
Does not identify packet flow for QoS handling which includes checksum options.
Packet head contains Flow Label field that specifies packet flow for QoS handling
DNS records
Address (A) records, maps hostnames
Address (AAAA) records, maps hostnames
Address configuration
Manual or via DHCP
Stateless address autoconfiguration using Internet Control Message Protocol version 6 (ICMPv6) or DHCPv6
IP to MAC resolution
Broadcast ARP
Multicast Neighbour Solicitation
Local subnet Group management
Internet Group Management Protocol GMP)
Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD)
Optional Fields
Has Optional Fields
Does not have optional fields. But Extension headers are available.
IPSec
Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) concerning network security is optional
Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) Concerning network security is mandatory
Dynamic host configuration Server
Clients have approach DHCS (Dynamic Host Configuration server) whenever they want to connect to a network.
A Client does not have to approach any such server as they are given permanent addresses.
Mapping
Uses ARP(Address Resolution Protocol) to map to MAC address
Uses NDP(Neighbour Discovery Protocol) to map to MAC address
Combability with mobile devices
IPv4 address uses the dot-decimal notation. That’s why it is not suitable for mobile networks.
IPv6 address is represented in hexadecimal, colon- separated notation.
IPv6 is better suited to mobile
networks.
IPv4 and IPv6 cannot communicate with other but can exist together on the same network. This is known as Dual Stack.
Differences between IPv4 and IPv6 – GeeksforGeeks
IPv4 and IPv6 are internet protocol version 4 and internet protocol version 6, IP version 6 is the new version of Internet Protocol, which is way better than IP version 4 in terms of complexity and efficiency. Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6: IPv4IPv6IPv4 has 32-bit address lengthIPv6 has 128-bit address lengthIt Supports Manual and DHCP address configurationIt supports Auto and renumbering address configurationIn IPv4 end to end connection integrity is UnachievableIn IPv6 end to end connection integrity is AchievableIt can generate 4. 29×109 address spaceAddress space of IPv6 is quite large it can produce 3. 4×1038 address spaceSecurity feature is dependent on applicationIPSEC is inbuilt security feature in the IPv6 protocolAddress representation of IPv4 is in decimalAddress Representation of IPv6 is in hexadecimalFragmentation performed by Sender and forwarding routersIn IPv6 fragmentation performed only by senderIn IPv4 Packet flow identification is not availableIn IPv6 packetflow identification are Available and uses flow label field in the headerIn IPv4 checksumfield is availableIn IPv6 checksumfield is not availableIt has broadcast Message Transmission SchemeIn IPv6 multicast and any cast message transmission scheme is availableIn IPv4 Encryption and Authentication facility not providedIn IPv6 Encryption and Authentication are provided IPv4 has header of 20-60 bytes. IPv6 has header of 40 bytes fixed Attention reader! Don’t stop learning now. Practice GATE exam well before the actual exam with the subject-wise and overall quizzes available in GATE Test Series all GATE CS concepts with Free Live Classes on our youtube channel.
IPv4 vs IPv6 – javatpoint
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What is IP?
An IP stands for internet protocol. An IP address is assigned to each device connected to a network. Each device uses an IP address for communication. It also behaves as an identifier as this address is used to identify the device on a network. It defines the technical format of the packets. Mainly, both the networks, i. e., IP and TCP, are combined together, so together, they are referred to as a TCP/IP. It creates a virtual connection between the source and the destination.
We can also define an IP address as a numeric address assigned to each device on a network. An IP address is assigned to each device so that the device on a network can be identified uniquely. To facilitate the routing of packets, TCP/IP protocol uses a 32-bit logical address known as IPv4(Internet Protocol version 4).
An IP address consists of two parts, i. e., the first one is a network address, and the other one is a host address.
There are two types of IP addresses:
IPv4
IPv6
What is IPv4?
IPv4 is a version 4 of IP. It is a current version and the most commonly used IP address. It is a 32-bit address written in four numbers separated by ‘dot’, i. e., periods. This address is unique for each device.
For example, 66. 94. 29. 13
The above example represents the IP address in which each group of numbers separated by periods is called an Octet. Each number in an octet is in the range from 0-255. This address can produce 4, 294, 967, 296 possible unique addresses.
In today’s computer network world, computers do not understand the IP addresses in the standard numeric format as the computers understand the numbers in binary form only. The binary number can be either 1 or 0. The IPv4 consists of four sets, and these sets represent the octet. The bits in each octet represent a number.
Each bit in an octet can be either 1 or 0. If the bit the 1, then the number it represents will count, and if the bit is 0, then the number it represents does not count.
Representation of 8 Bit Octet
The above representation shows the structure of 8- bit octet.
Now, we will see how to obtain the binary representation of the above IP address, i. e., 66. 13
Step 1: First, we find the binary number of 66.
To obtain 66, we put 1 under 64 and 2 as the sum of 64 and 2 is equal to 66 (64+2=66), and the remaining bits will be zero, as shown above. Therefore, the binary bit version of 66 is 01000010.
Step 2: Now, we calculate the binary number of 94.
To obtain 94, we put 1 under 64, 16, 8, 4, and 2 as the sum of these numbers is equal to 94, and the remaining bits will be zero. Therefore, the binary bit version of 94 is 01011110.
Step 3: The next number is 29.
To obtain 29, we put 1 under 16, 8, 4, and 1 as the sum of these numbers is equal to 29, and the remaining bits will be zero. Therefore, the binary bit version of 29 is 00011101.
Step 4: The last number is 13.
To obtain 13, we put 1 under 8, 4, and 1 as the sum of these numbers is equal to 13, and the remaining bits will be zero. Therefore, the binary bit version of 13 is 00001101.
Drawback of IPv4
Currently, the population of the world is 7. 6 billion. Every user is having more than one device connected with the internet, and private companies also rely on the internet. As we know that IPv4 produces 4 billion addresses, which are not enough for each device connected to the internet on a planet. Although the various techniques were invented, such as variable- length mask, network address translation, port address translation, classes, inter-domain translation, to conserve the bandwidth of IP address and slow down the depletion of an IP address. In these techniques, public IP is converted into a private IP due to which the user having public IP can also use the internet. But still, this was not so efficient, so it gave rise to the development of the next generation of IP addresses, i. e., IPv6.
What is IPv6?
IPv4 produces 4 billion addresses, and the developers think that these addresses are enough, but they were wrong. IPv6 is the next generation of IP addresses. The main difference between IPv4 and IPv6 is the address size of IP addresses. The IPv4 is a 32-bit address, whereas IPv6 is a 128-bit hexadecimal address. IPv6 provides a large address space, and it contains a simple header as compared to IPv4.
It provides transition strategies that convert IPv4 into IPv6, and these strategies are as follows:
Dual stacking: It allows us to have both the versions, i. e., IPv4 and IPv6, on the same device.
Tunneling: In this approach, all the users have IPv6 communicates with an IPv4 network to reach IPv6.
Network Address Translation: The translation allows the communication between the hosts having a different version of IP.
This hexadecimal address contains both numbers and alphabets. Due to the usage of both the numbers and alphabets, IPv6 is capable of producing over 340 undecillion (3. 4*1038) addresses.
IPv6 is a 128-bit hexadecimal address made up of 8 sets of 16 bits each, and these 8 sets are separated by a colon. In IPv6, each hexadecimal character represents 4 bits. So, we need to convert 4 bits to a hexadecimal number at a time
Address format
The address format of IPv4:
The address format of IPv6:
The above diagram shows the address format of IPv4 and IPv6. An IPv4 is a 32-bit decimal address. It contains 4 octets or fields separated by ‘dot’, and each field is 8-bit in size. The number that each field contains should be in the range of 0-255. Whereas an IPv6 is a 128-bit hexadecimal address. It contains 8 fields separated by a colon, and each field is 16-bit in size.
Differences between IPv4 and IPv6
Ipv4
Ipv6
Address length
IPv4 is a 32-bit address.
IPv6 is a 128-bit address.
Fields
IPv4 is a numeric address that consists of 4 fields which are separated by dot (. ).
IPv6 is an alphanumeric address that consists of 8 fields, which are separated by colon.
Classes
IPv4 has 5 different classes of IP address that includes Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, and Class E.
IPv6 does not contain classes of IP addresses.
Number of IP address
IPv4 has a limited number of IP addresses.
IPv6 has a large number of IP addresses.
VLSM
It supports VLSM (Virtual Length Subnet Mask). Here, VLSM means that Ipv4 converts IP addresses into a subnet of different sizes.
It does not support VLSM.
Address configuration
It supports manual and DHCP configuration.
It supports manual, DHCP, auto-configuration, and renumbering.
Address space
It generates 4 billion unique addresses
It generates 340 undecillion unique addresses.
End-to-end connection integrity
In IPv4, end-to-end connection integrity is unachievable.
In the case of IPv6, end-to-end connection integrity is achievable.
Security features
In IPv4, security depends on the application. This IP address is not developed in keeping the security feature in mind.
In IPv6, IPSEC is developed for security purposes.
Address representation
In IPv4, the IP address is represented in decimal.
In IPv6, the representation of the IP address in hexadecimal.
Fragmentation
Fragmentation is done by the senders and the forwarding routers.
Fragmentation is done by the senders only.
Packet flow identification
It does not provide any mechanism for packet flow identification.
It uses flow label field in the header for the packet flow identification.
Checksum field
The checksum field is available in IPv4.
The checksum field is not available in IPv6.
Transmission scheme
IPv4 is broadcasting.
On the other hand, IPv6 is multicasting, which provides efficient network operations.
Encryption and Authentication
It does not provide encryption and authentication.
It provides encryption and authentication.
Number of octets
It consists of 4 octets.
It consists of 8 fields, and each field contains 2 octets. Therefore, the total number of octets in IPv6 is 16.
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Frequently Asked Questions about difference between ipv4 and ipv6 in computer network
What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?
The main difference between IPv4 and IPv6 is the address size of IP addresses. The IPv4 is a 32-bit address, whereas IPv6 is a 128-bit hexadecimal address. IPv6 provides a large address space, and it contains a simple header as compared to IPv4.
What is IPv4 and IPv6 in computer networks?
Share the Article: The Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is a protocol for use on packet-switched Link Layer networks (e.g. Ethernet). … The Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is more advanced and has better features compared to IPv4. It has the capability to provide an infinite number of addresses.
