#14 IPv6: THE NETWORKING SERIES
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Hey peeps, hope so far we have discussed many things about IPv4. But there are some reasons and issues that makes us to use IPv6. So, in this blog we’ll be discussing about what is the need for IPv6, size of IPv6 and how the IPv4 and IPv6 coexist in a network. Without any delay, let’s dive into the topic!
Need for IPv6
We already know that IPv4 is running out of addresses because it is made up of only 32 bits. That is why we need IPv6. IPv6 is designed to be the successor to IPv4.
IPv6 has a large address space of 128 bits, which provides 340 undecillion (which is 340 followed by 36 zeroes) possible addresses. The depletion of address space in IPv4 has been motivating factor to move to IPv6. IPv4 has a theoretical maximum of 4.3 billion addresses. Private addresses with NAT have been instrumental in slowing down the depletion of IPv4 address space. However, is problematic for many applications, creates latency and has limitations that severely affect peer-to-peer communications. As the number of mobile devices are increasing, mobile providers, most top ISPs and content providers made the transition to IPv6.
Internet of Things
The internet today is different from that of past decades. Today, the internet is more than email, web pages, file transfers between computers. The evolving internet is becoming an “Internet of Things (IoT)”. Hereafter, not only computers, tablets and smartphones will access the internet. But also, more sensor-equipped, internet-ready devices will include everything from automobiles to household appliances.
With an increasing internet population, a limited IPv4 address space, issues with NAT and the IoT, it is the time to transition to IPv6.
IPv6 Address Size
IPv6 addressing will eventually replace IPv4 addressing. IPv6 overcomes the limitations of IPv4 and has features that satisfies the network demands. Other benefits of the IPv6 protocol include:
- There will be no need for NAT because each hosts can have its own globally routable address.
- Autoconfiguration capabilities simplify address administration.
Comparison of IPv4 and IPv6 addressing
- IPv4 addresses are 32-bit IP addresses and it is represented in decimal numbers separated by a dot(.). IPv6 addresses are 128-bit IP addresses which is represented in Hexadecimal.
- IPv4 addresses have subnet masks. IPv6 addresses have network prefixes instead of subnet masks.
- IPv6 addresses are typically presented in a compressed format.
IPv6 Characteristics
In addition to increased length, IPv6 addresses have other characteristics that are different than IPv4 addresses.
- Address autoconfiguration: Stateless Address Autoconfiguration (SLAAC) allows a host to create its own internet-routable address, without the need of a DHCP server. With the default method, the host receives the prefix (network address), prefix length (subnet mask) and default gateway from the router. Then the host create its own unique interface ID.
- Link-local address: IPv6 use link-local address when communicating with a device on the same network.
IPv6 Representation
It uses the Hexadecimal number system to represent the IPv6 addresses. The 128 bit is separated into 8 parts of 16 bits. The leading zeroes of each parts of 16 bit can be omitted. For example, 2001:0db8:00ab:abcd:1234:5678:1111:1111 can be represented as 2001:0db8:ab:abcd:1234:5678:1111:1111. And another rule is, any contiguous string of two or more 16-bit segments consisting of all zeroes can be represented with a double colon (::). For example, 2001:0db8:0000:0000:0000:0000:0000:0543 can be represented as 2001:0db8::543.
That’s all for this blog. I’ll catch you up in the next blog.
Until then, Stay connected!!
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