IPv4 and IPv6: What are the Differences and What Do I Use?

IPv4 and IPv6: When the Internet was born, nobody could have imagined what time IP addresses would not be. This of course was before your toaster had an IP address to be able to connect to the Internet.

So IP addresses started running out of IPv4. Then came the solution called IPv6. Do you know the differences between IPv4 and IPv6? What do you use? Do you need to change? IPv4

IPv4 and IPv6

The terms IPv4 and IPv6 refer to both the IP addressing standards that define how an IP address is allocated and what it will be. The numbers 4 and 6 indicate the number s (v4). But there are some basic differences between IPv4 and its IPv6, but also to IP addresses:

IPv4 is the oldest version with IP addresses out of date and IPv6 is the new version that has new IP addresses for your computer and your toaster.
IPv4 has IP addresses displayed with 32-bit numeric values ​​written in the decimal system while IPv6 uses IPs written in hexadecimal system of 128-bit.

What do you use?

The IPv6 standard has been around for quite some time. IPv4 provided all the IP addresses that 2012 could provide and since then IPv6 upgrades have been promoted. But 2018 too many devices still use IPv4. How; If the IPv4 standard does not have new addresses, how can all new smartphones access the Internet?

Right now, routers seem to play an important role. Your router is the device that receives an IP address, and the devices you use and connect to your router have internal addresses. Your router uses internal IP addresses to make sure that traffic is being routed to the correct device. So if you have the newest Macbook, or the latest tablet , you may probably be using IPv6. These devices also support IPv6, so no problem. But the problem exists in older devices.

Please also note that although all of the IP addresses available from the IPv4 standard are available, they are not all used continuously. Many of these are not being used, which means that the transition to IPv6 will probably be delayed.

Switch to IPv6

Moving to IPv6 is not easy. Although the IPv6 standard is much higher than v4, switching to IPv6 costs money as it needs hardware and software. The ISP should upgrade its infrastructure to support IPv6. But that does not concern us.

Next is the router's turn. It should be upgraded and not many people buy their own router. Most people use the router provided by their service provider . So when ISPs upgrade their network to support IPv6, they should include the new routers in the same bill.

But if you have internet at home, there is no reason to rush, and that's what your provider knows about. IPv6 exists, but you can not force ISPs to provide the new standard. Current router technology uses IPv4. So do not expect miracles if there is no new legislation or if there is no serious risk of a security gap in IPv4.

Yes IPv6 is better

The biggest advantage of using IPv6 is that all devices can connect directly to the internet. Right now, your devices are connected through a router and do not have their own IP addresses. If you need to find a device on a network, you should look for it by its MAC address. This naturally slows things down. A router is only as fast as they are answered of your web. So when devices can connect directly to the internet, the it will be faster. That doesn't mean you don't need the router. But direct internet connection without internal IPs works much more efficiently.

The IPv6 standard is also much safer. Encrypts traffic and ensures the integrity of each packet. This gives you VPN security. No VPNs are no longer useless. You can use them to hide your activity from your ISP. But with IPv6 even without them, your traffic will be safer than IPv4.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

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