Description
1. Compare and Contrast IPv4 and IPv6. Use information from your Chapter reading as well as any internet resources at your disposal.
2. Discuss how you have been exposed to IPv6, whether at home or at work. Do you think IPv6 will completely replace IPv4 or do you feel IPv4 will remain in use for years to come.
Reply:
IPv4 and IPv6 are both versions of Internet Protocol, and IP addresses are assigned to every device on the internet. IPv6 is the newer version of IP and comes with various benefits over IPv4. Whereas IPv4 supports about 4 billion unique IPs, IPv6 supports over a thousand times that many IPs. IPv4 is a 32-bit address, and IPv6 is a 128-bit address. Addresses with IPv4 are denoted with periods, and addresses with IPv6 are denoted with colons and are longer than IPv4 addresses. The main advantage of IPv6 is how many devices it supports since we’re getting to the point where there are more internet-connected devices and servers than available IPv4 addresses. IPv4 is widely compatible with all of today’s internet-connected devices, while IPv6 is available on newer hardware but not always older hardware.
I think it’s inevitable that IPv6 eventually replaces IPv4 as was intended by its designers. However, that rollout will likely take quite a long time, perhaps many years, to actually occur. IPv4 and IPv6 will continue to work alongside each other for the time being. IPv4 won’t disappear completely until all hardware that supports it (but not IPv6) is taken offline due to becoming outdated or other reasons. I don’t personally have a lot of experience with IPv6 other than hearing about it from time to time and occasionally noticing IPv6 addresses listed on my devices.