IPv6

IPv6

Internet Protocol version 6. Uses a 128bit (16 byte) address space, compared with the 32 bit (4 byte) address space used by IPv4.

IPv6 provides a much larger address space than is available for IPv4 and is intended to overcome the limitation of IPv4 where IP addresses are a finite and exhaustible resource. The use of NAT devices has alleviated the need for an extended IP address range, and this in part has been one of the reasons responsible for the slow take up of IPv6.

IPv6 is backwards compatible with IPv4.

For more information see:

• www.ipv6forum.org
• www.ipv6.org - IPv6 information
• www.ipv6.org.uk - IPv6 projects in the UK. Maintained by Southampton University's IPv6 lab.
• www.ipv6.bt.com - IPv6 information from BT. Includes tutorials and presentations on IPv6.
• www.ietf.org/html.charters/ipv6-charter.html
• http://everything.explained.at/IPv6/ - IPv6 explained.
• www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Crash-Course-IPv6-Part1.html - IPv6 Crash Course.