IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol, which identifies devices across the internet so they can be located. Every device that uses the internet is identified through its own IP address in order for internet communication to work.
The previous version, IPv4, uses a 32-bit addressing scheme to support 4.3 billion devices, which was thought to be enough. However, the growth of the internet, personal computers, smartphones and now Internet of Things devices proves that the world needed more addresses.
Fortunately, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) recognized this 21 years ago and in 1998 they developed IPv6 to deal with the problem of IPv4 exhaustion. IPv6 is 128-bits address having an address space of 2^128. It supports approximately 340 trillion trillion (or 2 to the 128th power, if you like), which is way bigger than IPv4. While IPv4 address method uses four sets of one- to three-digit numbers, IPv6 uses eight groups of four hexadecimal digits, separated by colons.
What are the benefits of IPv6?
In its work, the IETF included enhancements to IPv6 compared with IPv4. The IPv6 protocol can handle packets more efficiently, improve performance and increase security. It enables internet service providers to reduce the size of their routing tables by making them more hierarchical.
Why are the deployments of IPv6 getting delayed?
IPv6 has been in the works since 1998 to address the shortfall of IP addresses available under Ipv4, yet despite its efficiency and security advantages, adoption is still slow.
Adoption of IPv6 has been delayed in part due to network address translation (NAT), which takes private IP addresses and turns them into public IP addresses. That way a corporate machine with a private IP address can send to and receive packets from machines located outside the private network that have public IP addresses.
Carrier networks and ISPs have been the first group to start deploying IPv6 on their networks, with mobile networks leading the charge.
Enterprises are trailing in deployment. Complexity, costs and time needed to complete are all reasons given. In addition, some projects have been delayed due to software compatibility.
4 Steps To Planning A Migration From IPv4 To IPv6
Step 1: IPv6 cost-benefit analysis
Step 2: Readiness assessment
Step 3: Decide what to do with unsupported applications and infrastructure
Step 4: Plan the details of the migration
IPV6 Transition Mechanism
Compatibility between IPv4 and IPv6
A common myth is that IPv6 is not backward compatible with IPv4. This is only partially true; there is a defined format for an IPv6 address containing an embedded IPv4 address, specifically to enable backward compatibility through translation. However, IPv4 isn’t forward-compatible with anything; if it had a variable length address, operators could have extended the address rather than having the IETF define a new protocol, and network address translation would never have been a question. Whatever one’s opinion of IPv6, the fault is with IPv4.
Haradhan Chattaraj is the Founder, Designated Partner and Head – Infrastructure Services of Luscinia Consulting LLP. He can be reached at haradhan.chattaraj@lusciniaconsulting.com.