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LAST UPDATED: JANUARY 17, 2023

Difference Between Ipv4 And Ipv6

The Internet Protocol, or IP, is a set of rules that allows our computers and other communication devices to communicate with one another via the internet. When you access a website on your browser, a data packet including your IP address is transmitted to the web server's own IP address, and the page is then delivered back to your device via the internet.

IP addresses function in the same manner as street addresses on a map do. They're in charge of making sure packages get to their intended destinations. All internet traffic is controlled by IP. On the internet, data packets containing the IP addresses of their places of origin and destinations move, with routers guiding them along the right path.

Difference Between Ipv4 And Ipv6

What is IPv4 Address?

IPv4 is a connectionless protocol that uses a best-effort delivery paradigm, meaning it cannot guarantee delivery or prevent duplication. TCP sits on top of IP and tackles these flaws with features like data integrity checking.

In 1981, IPv4 became the primary standard for data packet exchanges. Version numbers evolved quickly throughout the standard's development, beginning with version 1 and ending with IPv4, which was used in ARPANET, the predecessor of the internet, in 1983.

We generally represent IPv4 in DOT notation. E.g. it varies from 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255 .The IPv4 addresses consist of two parts, first part the network prefix (it determines the network to which the address belongs), the second part, the host identifier, which helps to identify the host within that network.

Features of IPv4 addresses:

  • Connectionless Protocol

  • It allows for the creation of a simple virtual communication layer over varied devices

  • Less memory is required, and ease of remembering addresses

  • Already supported protocol by millions of devices

  • Offers video libraries and conferences

What is IPv6 Address?

As the popularity of the internet grew in the 1990s, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the open standards body in charge of defining technical internet protocols, became aware of a potential problem with IPv4: the number of available IP addresses is limited and will not be enough to assign to devices accessing the internet in the near future.

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) agreed that a better standard for future-proof IP addressing was required. By 1998, it had developed a draft standard for IPv6, a better and upgraded version of IPv4 that was intended to ultimately replace IPv4.

We represent IPv6 addresses in colon-notation as xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx, here xxxx is hexadecimal value and we can also represent IPv6 in the form of 8-tuples of 16-bit segments.

Features of IPv6 addresses

  • Hierarchical addressing and routing infrastructure

  • Stateful and Stateless configuration

  • Support for quality of service (QoS)

  • An ideal protocol for neighboring node interaction

The routing information protocol discussed above does not support IPv6 instead it uses static routes.

Comparison Between IPv4 and IPv6 Address

IPv4 IPv6
  • IPv4 is a four-digit number. The binary octets are separated using dotted notation.
  • IPv6 addresses are alphanumeric. The binary bits are separated by a colon.
  • The IPv4 minimum packet size is 576 bytes.
  • The IPv4 minimum packet size is 1208 bytes.
  • To translate an IP address to a media access control (MAC) address, IPv4 employs the address resolution protocol (ARP).
  • The neighbor discovery protocol (NDP) is used in IPv6 to map IP addresses to MAC addresses.
  • Before joining to the network, clients request IP addresses from the DHCSs.
  • Clients have a fixed address, DHCSs are not required.

Technical Differences between IPv4 and IPv6 Address

IPv4

IPv6

size

32-bit

128-bit

notation

Dot-notation

Colon-notation

Header fields

12

8

Length of header fields

20

40

Has Checksum

Yes

No

Number of classes

5 (from A to E)

Unlimited

Supports VLSM

Yes

No

Fragmentation

Done by sending & forwarding routes

Done by sender

Supports RIP

YES

NO

Supports SNMP

YES

NO

Packet size

576 bytes

1208 bytes

Mapping

Uses ARP(address resolution protocol)

Uses NDP(neighbor discovery protocol )

IPSec

Optional

Mandatory

Has Optional fields

Yes

No

Local subnet group management

Internet group management protocol

Multicast listener discovery

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About the author:
Adarsh Kumar Singh is a technology writer with a passion for coding and programming. With years of experience in the technical field, he has established a reputation as a knowledgeable and insightful writer on a range of technical topics.