Ipv6 Vs Ipv4 Address Space
IPv4 vs. IPv6 Benefits – What is it? | ThousandEyes
What is IPv6?
IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol (IP) address standard intended to supplement and eventually replace IPv4, the protocol many Internet services still use today. Every computer, mobile phone, home automation component, IoT sensor and any other device connected to the Internet needs a numerical IP address to communicate between other devices. The original IP address scheme, called IPv4, is running out of addresses due to its widespread usage from the proliferation of so many connected devices.
What is IPv4?
IPv4 stands for Internet Protocol version 4. 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 99. 48. 227. 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.
Why Support IPv6? What are the benefits of IPv6?
IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the sixth revision to the Internet Protocol and the successor to IPv4. 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 128-bit IP address.
Key benefits to IPv6 include:
No more NAT (Network Address Translation)
Auto-configuration
No more private address collisions
Better multicast routing
Simpler header format
Simplified, more efficient routing
True quality of service (QoS), also called “flow labeling”
Built-in authentication and privacy support
Flexible options and extensions
Easier administration (no more DHCP)
IPv4 uses a 32-bit address for its Internet addresses. That means it can provide support for 2^32 IP addresses in total â around 4. 29 billion. That may seem like a lot, but all 4. 29 billion IP addresses have now been assigned, leading to the address shortage issues we face today.
IPv6 utilizes 128-bit Internet addresses. Therefore, it can support 2^128 Internet addresses—340, 282, 366, 920, 938, 463, 463, 374, 607, 431, 768, 211, 456 of them to be exact. The number of IPv6 addresses is 1028 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.
The text form of the IPv6 address is xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx, where each x is a hexadecimal digit, representing 4 bits. Leading zeros can be omitted. The double colon (::) can be used once in the text form of an address, to designate any number of 0 bits.
With Dual-IP stacks, your computers, routers, switches, and other devices run both protocols, but IPv6 is the preferred protocol. A typical procedure for businesses is to start by enabling both TCP/IP protocol stacks on the wide area network (WAN) core routers, then perimeter routers and firewalls, followed by data-center routers and finally the desktop access routers.
ThousandEyes Support for IPv6
With IPv6 becoming more prevalent in cloud provider and consumer access networks, you may already be on the path to IPv6 deployment with your network and applications.
If you are looking to understand IPv6 in your environment there are three things you should be monitoring:
IPv6 DNS resolution
IPv6 traffic paths
IPv6 BGP prefixes and routes
ThousandEyes has support for IPv6 so that organizations can utilize IPv6 across all of their test types (web, network, voice, routing) and agent types (cloud, enterprise, endpoint).
ThousandEyes Cloud Agent support for IPv6 is provided on six continents allowing global coverage for organizations. ThousandEyes also supports the use of dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 Enterprise Agents. Enterprise Agents can have both addresses assigned and executes tests based on a user-defined preference for only IPv4, only IPv6 or a preference for IPv6.
IPv4 vs. IPv6 Benefits – What is it? | ThousandEyes
What is IPv6?
IPv6 is the next generation Internet Protocol (IP) address standard intended to supplement and eventually replace IPv4, the protocol many Internet services still use today. Every computer, mobile phone, home automation component, IoT sensor and any other device connected to the Internet needs a numerical IP address to communicate between other devices. The original IP address scheme, called IPv4, is running out of addresses due to its widespread usage from the proliferation of so many connected devices.
What is IPv4?
IPv4 stands for Internet Protocol version 4. 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 99. 48. 227. 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.
Why Support IPv6? What are the benefits of IPv6?
IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the sixth revision to the Internet Protocol and the successor to IPv4. 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 128-bit IP address.
Key benefits to IPv6 include:
No more NAT (Network Address Translation)
Auto-configuration
No more private address collisions
Better multicast routing
Simpler header format
Simplified, more efficient routing
True quality of service (QoS), also called “flow labeling”
Built-in authentication and privacy support
Flexible options and extensions
Easier administration (no more DHCP)
IPv4 uses a 32-bit address for its Internet addresses. That means it can provide support for 2^32 IP addresses in total â around 4. 29 billion. That may seem like a lot, but all 4. 29 billion IP addresses have now been assigned, leading to the address shortage issues we face today.
IPv6 utilizes 128-bit Internet addresses. Therefore, it can support 2^128 Internet addresses—340, 282, 366, 920, 938, 463, 463, 374, 607, 431, 768, 211, 456 of them to be exact. The number of IPv6 addresses is 1028 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.
The text form of the IPv6 address is xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx, where each x is a hexadecimal digit, representing 4 bits. Leading zeros can be omitted. The double colon (::) can be used once in the text form of an address, to designate any number of 0 bits.
With Dual-IP stacks, your computers, routers, switches, and other devices run both protocols, but IPv6 is the preferred protocol. A typical procedure for businesses is to start by enabling both TCP/IP protocol stacks on the wide area network (WAN) core routers, then perimeter routers and firewalls, followed by data-center routers and finally the desktop access routers.
ThousandEyes Support for IPv6
With IPv6 becoming more prevalent in cloud provider and consumer access networks, you may already be on the path to IPv6 deployment with your network and applications.
If you are looking to understand IPv6 in your environment there are three things you should be monitoring:
IPv6 DNS resolution
IPv6 traffic paths
IPv6 BGP prefixes and routes
ThousandEyes has support for IPv6 so that organizations can utilize IPv6 across all of their test types (web, network, voice, routing) and agent types (cloud, enterprise, endpoint).
ThousandEyes Cloud Agent support for IPv6 is provided on six continents allowing global coverage for organizations. ThousandEyes also supports the use of dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 Enterprise Agents. Enterprise Agents can have both addresses assigned and executes tests based on a user-defined preference for only IPv4, only IPv6 or a preference for IPv6.
Understanding IP Addressing and CIDR Charts — RIPE Network
Every device connected to the Internet needs to have an identifier. Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are the numerical addresses used to identify a particular piece of hardware connected to the Internet.
The two most common versions of IP in use today are Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses come from finite pools of numbers.
For IPv4, this pool is 32-bits (232) in size and contains 4, 294, 967, 296 IPv4 addresses. The IPv6 address space is 128-bits (2128) in size, containing 340, 282, 366, 920, 938, 463, 463, 374, 607, 431, 768, 211, 456 IPv6 addresses.
A bit is a digit in the binary numeral system, the basic unit for storing information.
Not every IP address in the IPv4 or IPv6 pool can be assigned to the machines and devices used to access the Internet. Some IP addresses have been reserved for other uses, such as for use in private networks. This means that the total number of IP addresses available for allocation is less than the total number in the pool.
Network prefixes
IP addresses can be taken from the IPv4 or the IPv6 pool and are divided into two parts, a network section and a host section. The network section identifies the particular network and the host section identifies the particular node (for example, a certain computer) on the Local Area Network (LAN).
Allocation
IP addresses are assigned to networks in different sized ‘blocks’. The size of the ‘block’ assigned is written after an oblique (/), which shows the number of IP addresses contained in that block. For example, if an Internet Service Provider (ISP) is assigned a “/16”, they receive around 64, 000 IPv4 addresses. A “/26” network provides 64 IPv4 addresses. The lower the number after the oblique, the more addresses contained in that “block”.
IPv4
The size of the prefix, in bits, is written after the oblique. This is called “slash notation”. There is a total of 32 bits in IPv4 address space. For example, if a network has the address “192. 0. 2. 0/24”, the number “24” refers to how many bits are contained in the network. From this, the number of bits left for address space can be calculated. As all IPv4 networks have 32 bits, and each “section” of the address denoted by the decimal points contains eight bits, “192. 0/24” leaves eight bits to contain host addresses. This is enough space for 256 host addresses. These host addresses are the IP addresses that are necessary to connect your machine to the Internet.
A network numbered “10. 0/8” (which is one of those reserved for private use) is a network with eight bits of network prefix, denoted by “/8” after the oblique. The “8” denotes that there are 24 bits left over in the network to contain IPv4 host addresses: 16, 777, 216 addresses to be exact.
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) Chart
The Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR) is commonly known as the CIDR chart and is used by those running networks and managing IP addresses. It enables them to see the number of IP addresses contained within each “slash notation” and the size of each “slash notation” in bits.
Download: IPv4 CIDR Chart (PDF)
IPv6
IPv6 is similar to IPv4, but it is structured so that all LANs have 64 bits of network prefix as opposed to the variable length of network prefix1 that IPv4 networks have. All IPv6 networks have space for 18, 446, 744, 073, 709, 551, 616 IPv6 addresses.
Download: IPv6 Chart (PDF)
Currently, most ISPs assign /48 network prefixes to subscribers’ sites (the End Users’ networks). Because all IPv6 networks have /64 prefixes, a /48 network prefix allows 65, 536 LANs in an End User’s site.
The current minimum IPv6 allocation made by the RIPE NCC is a /32 network prefix. If the LIR only made /48 assignments from this /32 network prefix, they would be able to make 65, 536 /48 assignments. If they decided to only assign /56 network prefixes they would have 24 bits available to them, and so could make 16, 777, 216 /56 assignments.
For example, if a /24 IPv6 allocation is made to an LIR, it would be able to make 16, 777, 216 /48 assignments or 4, 294, 967, 296 /56 assignments.
To give some perspective, it is worth noting that there are 4, 294, 967, 296 IPv4 addresses in total, significantly less than the number of IPv6 addresses.
IPv6 Relative Network Sizes
/128
1 IPv6 address
A network interface
/64
1 IPv6 subnet
18, 446, 744, 073, 709, 551, 616 IPv6 addresses
/56
256 LAN segments
Popular prefix size for one subscriber site
/48
65, 536 LAN segments
/32
65, 536 /48 subscriber sites
Minimum IPv6 allocation
/24
16, 777, 216 subscriber sites
256 times larger than the minimum IPv6 allocation
1 RFC2526, Reserved IPv6 Subnet Anycast Addresses (Proposed Standard)
Frequently Asked Questions about ipv6 vs ipv4 address space
How much bigger is the IPv6 address space than the IPv4 address space?
IPv6 utilizes 128-bit Internet addresses. Therefore, it can support 2^128 Internet addresses—340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 of them to be exact. The number of IPv6 addresses is 1028 times larger than the number of IPv4 addresses.
What is the address space of IPv6?
The IPv6 address space is 128-bits (2128) in size, containing 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456 IPv6 addresses.Jan 4, 2011
Is IPv6 more efficient than IPv4?
More Efficient Routing – IPv6 reduces the size of routing tables and makes routing more efficient and hierarchical. … More efficient packet processing – Compared with the IPv4, IPv6 contains no IP-level checksum, so the checksum does not need to be recalculated at every router hop.Apr 30, 2019
