Getting to know IPv6 Protocol

I will be introducing some of the obvious benefits to IPv6, in hopes that businesses great and small will transition to IPv6 enjoy it's ease.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) is the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP) that is designed to overcome the limitations of IPv4. The following are some of the advantages of using IPv6 addressing:

Larger address space: IPv6 addresses are 128 bits long, compared to IPv4 addresses which are only 32 bits long. This means that there are 340 undecillion or to be more specific (340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456) possible IPv6 addresses. Let's make that number more understandable, we have more IPv6 addresses than stars in

our galaxy. We will run out of IPv6 addresses on Earth.

Simplified address assignment: IPv6 addresses are divided into two parts: a 64-bit network prefix and a 64-bit host identifier. This makes it easier to assign addresses and reduces the need for network address translation (NAT) and DHCP. Since we have features built in to IPv6 that can address the Interface-ID portion of the address, DHCP will not be as prevalent as before. The NAT protocol may still exist but again, it will be reduced.

Improved security: IPv6 includes built-in support for IPsec, which is a set of protocols that provide security for IP communications. This makes it easier to secure communications and prevent unauthorized access.

Improved mobility: IPv6 includes support for mobile IP, which allows devices to change their point of attachment to the Internet without changing their IP address. This makes it easier for mobile devices to stay connected to the Internet as they move from one network to another.

Enhanced Quality of Service (QoS): IPv6 includes a flow label field, which can be used to identify packets that belong to the same flow and prioritize them accordingly.

Efficient Routing: IPv6 routing is simpler and more efficient than IPv4 routing, this is due to the fact that the network prefix in IPv6 is larger, reducing the number of routing table entries required.

Quick and Dirty History of IPv6

The development of IPv6, the next generation Internet Protocol, began in the early 1990s as the Internet was experiencing rapid growth. The current version of the Internet Protocol, IPv4, was running out of available addresses due to the increasing number of devices and users connecting to the Internet. IPv6 was developed to address this issue by providing a much larger address space, as well as other improvements such as improved security and support for real-time applications. The first version of IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in 1998 and officially standardized in 2017. Since then, IPv6 has been gradually implemented by Internet service providers and organizations around the world, with an increasing number of devices and networks supporting the new protocol.

So, the question we need to answer is why we are not fully functioning with IPv6 addresses.

I hope this makes you aware that IPv6 is the future!

Categories: CISCO, EUI-64, FFFE, IP, IPv6, NETWORING, NETWORK, ROUTING, SECURITY