What Is Ipv6 And Ipv4
Differences between IPv4 and IPv6 – Linksys Official Support
The Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is a protocol for use on packet-switched Link Layer networks (e. g. Ethernet). IPv4 provides an addressing capability of approximately 4. 3 billion addresses.
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. It is replacing IPv4 to accommodate the growing number of networks worldwide and help solve the IP address exhaustion problem.
One of the differences between IPv4 and IPv6 is the appearance of the IP addresses. IPv4 uses four 1 byte decimal numbers, separated by a dot (i. e. 192. 168. 1. 1), while IPv6 uses hexadecimal numbers that are separated by colons (i. fe80::d4a8:6435:d2d8:d9f3b11).
Below is the summary of the differences between the IPv4 and IPv6:
IPv4IPv6No. of bits on IP Address32128FormatdecimalhexadecimalCapable of Addresses4. 3 billioninfinite numberHow to ping ping
Advantages of IPv6 over IPv4:
IPv6 simplified the router’s task compared to IPv4. IPv6 is more compatible to mobile networks than IPv4. IPv6 allows for bigger payloads than what is allowed in IPv4. IPv6 is used by less than 1% of the networks, while IPv4 is still in use by the remaining 99%.
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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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Everything You Need to Know About IPv4 vs. IPv6
The “IP” in IPv4 and IPv6 stands for Internet Protocol, which is a set of rules that determine how devices transmit data packets across the Internet. Internet Protocol also assigns a unique address to each device on the web. These addresses ensure data packets are routed to the correct device.
What is IPv4?
IPv4 or Internet Protocol Version 4 is the most common protocol for transmitting data packets on the web. IPv4 provides both the identification (IP addresses) for each device on the Internet and the rules that govern how data packets are transmitted between those devices.
With IPv4, a typical IP address has 32 bits and is in dotted-decimal form, like this:
192. 0. 2. 235
Because there are only 232 unique hosts in this decimal format, there are only about 4. 3 billion IPv4 addresses.
What is IPv6?
There’s been a massive increase in devices connected to the Internet in the last decade—with a rise from 5 Internet devices per household to 50 Internet devices per household from 2015 to 2020. This prompted the Internet Engineering Tracking Taskforce (IETF) to create a new Internet protocol, IPv6. It was released in December 1998.
IPv6 addresses are written in hexadecimal format, like this:
2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334
The Pros of IPv4 vs. IPv6
Despite IPv6 being the newer, updated IP, there are still many advantages of IPv4.
Existing infrastructure – Most websites use IPv4, even those that also support IPv6. This makes version four a more seamless experience. That is, until most of the Internet switches to version six.
Simplicity – IPv4’s 32-bit dotted decimal is much smaller and simpler than IPv6’s hexadecimal numbers. This simplicity is easier for humans to read.
Support – Because most traffic is still using IPv4, Network operators find IPv4 familiar. They may wait until more traffic is IPv6 before they make any decisions about their own infrastructure—especially if they have enough IPv4 addresses for the near future.
The Cons of IPv4 vs. IPv6
Running short on IPv4 addresses isn’t the only con of version four.
Exhaustion of IPv4 – As we’ve covered, the world is short on IPv4 addresses. This means there’s a cost to buy IPv4 addresses, where IPv6 addresses can be had (in unimaginable quantities) for the cost of registration with a regional registry (RIR). You also pay registry costs with IPv4.
IPv6 Speed – Web and cloud services provider, Akamai, measured the speed of IPv6 vs. IPv4. They found, “Sites load 5% faster in median and 15% faster for the 95% percentile on IPv6 compared to IPv4. ”
Network Address Translation (NAT) for IPv4 – NAT allows a group of devices (usually 10-20) that share a single public IP with IPv4. This requires complex configurations like forwarding and firewall alterations. Because IPv6 has so many addresses, IPv6 devices don’t require additional configuration.
Understanding the IPv4 market
The pros of IPv4, combined with the lack of addresses, created a new marketplace. Today, companies that need IPv4 addresses can buy them through IPv4 Brokers, or a company looking to move to IPv6 can sell IPv4 addresses.
When a company needs more IP addresses, they have three options:
Buy IPv4 addresses – That’s what is here for. Companies can also sell their IPv4 addresses if they’re beginning to deploy IPv6.
Use NAT – As mentioned above, NAT allows one address to be shared among many devices. However, NAT still requires one IPv4 address (usually one per 10-20 people). This has some drawbacks, namely speed issues as packets have to transition paths.
Deploy IPv6 – A business can deploy IPv6, but this may be of limited usefulness until most traffic is also on IPv6. So, even if a business deploys IPv6, it still needs more IPv4 addresses or NAT.
In Conclusion
There’s much debate around which is better—IPv4 or IPv6. But really, it’s about your specific needs. If you’d like more information on the differences between IPv4 vs. IPv6, or if you’re looking for help with either, please reach out to us today.
Frequently Asked Questions about what is ipv6 and ipv4
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.
Which is faster IPv4 or IPv6?
IPv6 Speed – Web and cloud services provider, Akamai, measured the speed of IPv6 vs. IPv4. They found, “Sites load 5% faster in median and 15% faster for the 95% percentile on IPv6 compared to IPv4.”Aug 18, 2020
What is IPv6 used for?
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a network layer protocol which allows communication and data transfers to take place over the network. IPv6 came into existence in 1998 with the sole purpose to take over and replace IPv4 protocol one day.
