WHAT IS IPV6?

Definition

Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a network layer protocol that allows communication and data transfers to take place over the network. IPv6 came about in 1998 with the main aim of taking over and replacing the IPv4 protocol. The reason is simple. The number of devices that want to connect to the Internet is growing, and IPv4 is not able to satisfy such needs.

IPv6 represents the newer generation of technology and development. The old version IPv4 is still very popular, but its shortage is a common issue. So, at some time in the future, we should let it go. Therefore, it is essential to understand the newer version IPv6.

• IPv6 has a 128-bit address and has a larger address space available for future allocation.
• Each address includes eight different groups of strings, and every group has four characters (alphanumeric), divided by a colon
• Larger Address Space
• IPv6’s header has been simplified by moving all unnecessary information and options to the end of the IPv6 header. IPv6 header is only twice as bigger than IPv4 provided the fact that IPv6 address is four times longer.
• End-to-end Connectivity
• IPv6 supports both stateful and stateless auto configuration mode of its host devices. This way, absence of a DHCP server does not put a halt on inter segment communication.
• One of the major advantages of IPv6 header is that it is extensible to add more information in the option part. IPv4 provides only 40-bytes for options, whereas options in IPv6 can be as much as the size of IPv6 packet itself.

IPV6 Address Types

• Unicast — A network layer address that identifies for a single interface of IPv6 enabled node. Packets sent to a unicast address are delivered to the interface configured with that IPv6 address. Therefore, unicast is a one-to-one communication.
• Multicast -A multicast address is a logical identifier for a group of hosts in a computer network that are available to process datagrams or frames intended to be multicast for a designated network service. Typically, the interfaces of the multicast group are on different nodes. An interface can belong to any number of multicast groups.
• Anycast -An anycast address is an address allocated to a set of interfaces that typically belong to different routers. When a packet is destined to an anycast address, it is delivered to the closest interface that has this anycast address, where the term “closest” is determined by the routing protocol. An anycast address must be assigned to a router not a host and cannot be used as a source address.
• Broadcast -There are no broadcast addresses in IPv6. Broadcast functionality is implemented using multicast addresses.

Oher IPv6 Benefits

• IPv6 provides a solution to address the global issue of limited address spaces due to increased demand for IP addresses due to technological advancements.
• It offers reliability and faster speeds. IPv6 supports multicast addresses, meaning bandwidth-intensive packet flows like media streams can reach many destinations simultaneously.
• It supports stateless and stateful address configuration regardless of the presence or absence of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server.
• It has a larger address space and can handle packets more efficiently.
• IPSec security, which provides confidentiality, authentication, and data integrity, is engraved into IPv6.