IPv6 Info

Advantage of IPv6 compared to IPv4

IPv6 or Internet Protocol Version 6 is the next generation protocol for the Internet. It's designed to provide several advantages over current Internet Protocol Version 4 (or IPv4).Both IPv6 and IPv4 define network layer protocol i.e., how data is sent from one computer to another computer over packet-switched networks such as the Internet.

IPv6 addresses the main problem of IPv4, that is, the exhaustion of addresses to connect computers or host in a packet-switched network. IPv6 has a very large address space and consists of 128 bits as compared to 32 bits in IPv4.

Benefits of IPv6 are as following:

Provided extensibility (can extend for new features by adding extension headers after IPv6 header)

Flow labeling capability(define how traffic is handled and identified)

Larger address space for end-to-end global reachability and Internet scalability; this is the key advantage of IPv6.

Simplified IPv6 data packet header for routing efficiency and performance.

Support for routing and route aggregation, making Internet backbone routing more streamlined and efficient (the IPv4 Internet backbone contains data routing information for over 130 000 networks; with IPv6 this number could be dramatically reduced).

Serverless ("stateless") IP auto-configuration, easier network renumbering, and much improved plug and play support.

Security with mandatory implementation of IP Security (IPSec) support for all fully IPv6-compliant devices (IPSec implementation is not mandated in IPv4). Note that use of IPSec is not mandatory, but its presence for implementation allows the user to have the option of secure communications.

Improved support for mobile IP and mobile (and ad hoc) computing devices.

Enhanced multicast networking support.

IPv6 is documented in several RFCs (or request for comments) starting from RFC 2460.

	Provided extensibility (can extend for new features by adding extension headers after IPv6 header)
	Flow labeling capability(define how traffic is handled and identified)
	Larger address space for end-to-end global reachability and Internet scalability; this is the key advantage of IPv6.
	Simplified IPv6 data packet header for routing efficiency and performance.
	Support for routing and route aggregation, making Internet backbone routing more streamlined and efficient (the IPv4 Internet backbone contains data routing information for over 130 000 networks; with IPv6 this number could be dramatically reduced).
	Serverless ("stateless") IP auto-configuration, easier network renumbering, and much improved plug and play support.
	Security with mandatory implementation of IP Security (IPSec) support for all fully IPv6-compliant devices (IPSec implementation is not mandated in IPv4). Note that use of IPSec is not mandatory, but its presence for implementation allows the user to have the option of secure communications.
	Improved support for mobile IP and mobile (and ad hoc) computing devices.
	Enhanced multicast networking support.