February 6, 2017

Major Differences between IPv4 and IPv6

If you find yourself confused about phrases like internet protocol, IPv6 and IPv4, you are not alone. Although many people like to discuss them, not all of them are aware of the basics behind both address spaces.

In this blog post, we help you figure out the differences between the two, so that you have a better understanding of the reasons why IPv4 still remains to be the first choice.

What Is An Internet Protocol?

Computers communicate over a network using an internet protocol. The IP specifies the addressing scheme as well as the technical format of packets. Majority of the networks uses IP in combination with TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) which helps build a virtual connection between a destination and a source.

IP itself is similar to a postal network. It enables you to identify a package and drop it off in the network without creating a link between you and the recipient. On the other hand, TCP and IP establish a back and forth connection between the sender and the recipient so that can communicate for a specified period of time.

What Are IPv4 And IPv6?

IPv4 and IPv6 are two different versions of internet protocols.

IPv4 was the first version of the internet protocol deployed for production in 1983 by ARPANET and is recognized as the first protocol used for standardized internetworking on the internet.

IPv4 utilizes 32-bit source and destination address fields that limit the address space to 4.3 billion addresses. This limit is what initiated the development of IPv6.

IPv6 has is more technologically advanced and offers an array of superior features compared to IPv4. Many users are switching to IPv6 due to its ability to provide an endless array of addresses. Currently, IPv6 is playing a key role in addressing the IPv4 exhaustion.

What Is The Difference?

The most important difference both the internet protocols is the size of the addresses. IPv6 have address sizes of around 128-bit while IPv4 has 32-bit addresses. Due to this difference, the appearance of addresses is also different. While IPv6 addresses appear as hexadecimal numbers that are separated by colons, IPv4 addresses appear as four 1 byte decimal numbers separated by dots.

While IPv4 uses the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol server to establish an address each time it logs clients into the network (the process is called stateful auto-configuration), IPv6 utilizes an advanced Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol v6. The advanced DHCPv6 allows IPv6 to support stateless auto-configuration of nodes. This process eliminates the need for the DHCP to obtain addresses. In simple words, this creates a plug and play configuration. Administrators can renumber network addresses without accessing individual clients.

While IPv6 does come as an advanced internet protocol, there are some downsides like the major changes IT infrastructure changes required. If you are looking for an IPv4 marketplace that allows you to buy IPv4 addresses at competitive rates, get in touch with us today and steer your way around additional IT costs.