What is IPv6?

IPv6 is the revised version of the Internet protocol designed to overcome the IPv4 limitations and address exhaustion problem.

IPv6 Definition

The IPv6 address explained in the latest version of the Internet protocol of the TCP/IP model is an alphanumeric tag for the unique detection of every network device connecting and exchanging data over an IPv6 network. It contains 32 hexadecimal digits equally distributed in eight different colon-separated fields.

IPv6 vs. IPv4

IPv6 and IPv4 are the two versions of Internet protocol that assign a unique IP address to a network device, such as a router, allowing it to connect and exchange data over the web. Outlined below are some of the key differences between both the protocols:

Address format: IPv4 address contains decimal integers in four 8-bit fields separated by single dots (192.168.1.1). The use of the 32-bit address format in this protocol restricts it to 4.3 billion IPv4 addresses. In contrast, IPv6 uses a large 128-bit address format, and therefore, it can assign up to 340 undecillion unique Internet addresses. An IPv6 address contains 32 hexadecimal digits equally divided into eight fields, and these groups are segregated by colons (2001:4860:4860:0000:0000:0000:0000:8844). The complex format of IPv6 addresses makes them challenging to remember for IT teams.
Security: Another area where IPv6 and IPv4 have substantial differences. In principle, IPv6 offers better security than its predecessor, IPv4. It inherently supports IETF's security protocols (IPSec) for data encryption, authentication, and end-to-end connection integrity. IPv4 also supports IPsec, but its implementation is optional, and thereby most companies avoid it. As most Ipv6 addresses are globally routable, they come with what is called “privacy extensions,” which allows them to frequently change parts of the addressing schema to prevent 3rd party data collection.
Network configuration: IPv6 supports manual, DHCP, and auto address configuration. Stateless address autoconfiguration in this protocol allows a network device to generate a local and global IPv6 address directly through a local router. IPv4, in contrast, doesn't allow devices to configure themselves independently.
Transmission speed: Theoretically, IPv6 supports fast data transfer between devices as it doesn't require network address translation (NAT), unlike IPv4. The vast address space in this protocol allows organizations to assign a separate public IPv6 address to each device. With this, computers can make direct connections for speedier information exchange. Nevertheless, most organizations still prefer the NAT path as IPv4 networks are more mature and optimized currently.
Device interoperability and mobility: A big difference between IPv6 and IPv4. A device in an IPv6 network can have multiple addresses, allowing it to connect to different networks simultaneously. Similarly, a network can also have multiple IPv6 address prefixes to connect to various ISPs concurrently. IPv4, in contrast, doesn't support this interoperability function.
Packet flow identification: More straightforward in IPv6 as it contains a flow label field in its packet header. According to this protocol, flow refers to a series of packets requiring special handling by routers when forwarding them to a particular destination, such as VoIP traffic. However, flow labeling is still experimental in IPv6 as some network devices don't support the flow label field. On the other hand, IPv4 doesn't support flow identification as it’s an older protocol.

Benefits of IPv6

IPv6 as a next-generation protocol provides numerous benefits—like larger address space and robust security—over its predecessor, IPv4. Migrating to this new Internet protocol allows companies to ensure smooth network administration without any configuration and routing issues. Outlined below are some of the benefits of IPv6 protocol:

Simplified and optimal routing: One of the significant benefits of IPv6. This new protocol helps maintain smaller routing tables through prefix-based hierarchical addressing. Instead of the routers, the data packet sender performs fragmentation by determining the maximum transmission unit (MTU) size for improved routing performance.

Seamless packet processing: IPv6 has a simplified packet header containing eight fields compared to IPv4. The IPv6 header discards the checksum field, earlier available in the IPv4, as most data link and transport layer protocols have built-in error-checking capabilities. The absence of the checksum field in this protocol eliminates the need to recalculate and verify it at every IPv6 router during transmission, accelerating packet forwarding.

Streamlined data flows: IPv6 helps optimize the network bandwidth usage through multicast groups. Multicast saves network bandwidth by simultaneously transferring bandwidth-intensive application content, such as multimedia streams, to multiple devices. Disinterested hosts can also ignore the broadcast packets during IPv6 multicast to avoid unnecessary computation, unlike IPv4.

Robust security: IPv6, besides having IPsec as a built-in security feature, also makes name resolution processes more secure. Secure neighbor discovery (SEND) protocol in IPv6 uses a cryptographic method (CGA) to authenticate the sender of neighbor discovery protocol (NDP) messages, preventing neighbor spoofing, DoS, and other attacks. NDP is often susceptible to malicious attacks while locating the link-layer address of nearby network nodes.

Support for new services: IPv6 avoids network address translation (NAT)—one of the techniques to address IPv4 address exhaustion—to establish point-to-point connectivity at the IP level. Besides creating peer-to-peer networks, this protocol also supports modern technologies, such as VoIP and quality of service (QoS).

How to Track IPv6 Addresses

Manual management of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses often increases the possibility of human errors. Using spreadsheets to manage the IP addresses of thousands of network devices, such as routers, is also complex and time-consuming for the IT staff. Therefore, an automated IP address management tool is preferable for IT teams to streamline their network administration tasks, including IP assignments, updates, and DHCP server configuration.
Automated software can help network admins manage IPv6 sites, group similar addresses into subnets, eliminate IP conflicts, and schedule automated network scans to maintain an up-to-date record of IP addresses. Software not only tracks IPv4 and IPv6 addresses but can also provide timely alerts of address problems, such as IPv4/IPv6 addresses unavailability due to full subnet, to network admins. Proactive alerts and active monitoring can help IT teams avoid potential network failure due to IP address problems. Moreover, modern software supports role-based administration, allowing network admins to clearly define every team members’ tasks while managing different subnets. It can also maintain a detailed record of historic IP-related events, allowing IT staff to quickly scan these logs to identify the root cause of IPv4/IPv6 address conflicts. Besides managing addresses, such software can also assist IT teams in DNS and DHCP server management.
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