What is IPv6?
IPv6 is the next generation of internet protocol. Since the internet was invented, we’ve been using IPv4; however, on February 3 of this year, the IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) gave out its last five /8’s of IPv4 address to RIR’s (Regional Internet Registries). Soon, there will be no more IPv4 addresses available. Although this will not initially affect devices that already have IP addresses, it will affect any new devices that need access to the internet.
The drastic increase in address size will aid in the spread of technology worldwide. As technology continues to advance, more devices will need IP accessibility and IPv6 will provide that. IP will be essential in smart homes that include "smart appliances" like refrigerators, ovens, etc. This will not only give the owner access to control the appliances, but potentially will allow vendors to perform remote diagnostics, rather than having to send a technician out to assess the situation first.
Address Explanation
IPv6 is a 128 bit address that is written in hexadecimal notation. There are four hexadecimal digits that make up every 16 bits of the address, thus resulting in 8 groups of hexadecimal digits, each separated by colons. There are 3 logical groups in an IPv6 address:
The first 48 bits, belong to the global prefix (LSU’s global prefix – 2620:0105:B000::/40).
The next 16 bits, are the subnet ID.
The final 64 bits, note the interface ID.
For illustration purposes, I will use LSU’s global prefix:
2620:0105:B000:0000:1111:2222:3333:4444
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Global Prefix Subnet Interface ID
A group of four 0’s, like, :0000: may be abbreviated as :0:. This can be done as many times as needed in an address.
Multiple groups of 0’s may be summarized by placing ::’s in place of the 0’s. This, however, can only be done once in an address.
Preceding 0’s may be omitted from the address. For example, :0da0: -> :da0:
Trailing 0’s may not be omitted.
Since IPv6 uses hexadecimal notation, instead of decimal like IPv4, it is important to have a grasp on the number system. Let’s start with a decimal or base 10 to begin the explanation as everyone is already familiar with this number system. In decimal, we have 10 digits, 0 – 9. When you get past 9, however, there are no more digits; so, we reset to 0 and carry a 1 into the tens spot, giving us 10. In hexadecimal, there are 16 digits; so, once you get past, nine other digits have to be used. Letters A – F are used to satisfy the remaining 6 spaces. Thus, the first 16 digits in hexadecimal are as follows:
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F
When counting past F, hexadecimal follows the same premise as decimal, where a 1 is carried into the next spot in order to continue counting. Therefore, we have D, E, F, 10, 11, 12… 1F, 20, 21, … etc...