What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?

What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?

IPv4 and IPv6 are both Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used for identifying devices connected to a network.

The main differences between IPv4 and IPv6 are:

• Address Length: IPv4 uses a 32-bit address scheme allowing for a total of 2³² addresses, while IPv6 uses a 128-bit address scheme allowing for a total of 2¹²⁸ addresses.
• Address Notation: IPv4 addresses are expressed in decimal format (e.g., 192.0.2.1), while IPv6 addresses are expressed in hexadecimal notation (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).
• Address Configuration: IPv4 addresses typically require manual configuration or the use of DHCP, while IPv6 addresses are designed to be automatically configured using stateless address autoconfiguration.
• Header Format: IPv4 headers are 20 bytes in length, while IPv6 headers are 40 bytes in length. IPv6 also has support for extension headers, which allow for additional functionalities.
• Security: IPv6 includes built-in support for IPsec, providing enhanced security features compared to IPv4.

In conclusion, IPv6 was developed to address the limitations of IPv4, such as address exhaustion and security concerns, by providing a larger address space, improved address configuration, and enhanced security features.