by Rosemarie Makhmaltchi

Created on: January 13, 2007   Last Updated: June 10, 2011

Today, it is almost impossible to imagine what the world would be like without the Internet the huge, worldwide network of computers that we use everyday. It seems as if the Internet in its current form will be around forever but, in fact, recent trends are forcing many aspects of the Internet to change. That is why the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has developed a new group of protocols called Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), formerly called IP-The Next Generation (IPng). IPv6 is slowly being introduced onto the Internet and is expected to completely eliminate the current protocol suite (IPv4) in just a few years.

Why do we need IPv6 anyway? Millions of new computers, printers, and other devices are connected to the Internet every year, and the network is getting closer and closer to being unable to accommodate new machines. You see, each apparatus that is connected to the Internet needs its own Internet Protocol address, which are currently being provided by a suite of protocols called Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4). Internet Protocol (IP) addresses are used to identify devices on the Internet so that they can communicate effectively with each other. Each IP address must be unique. If two or more devices share the same address, they will not be able to access the Internet. The same is true for devices that do not have IP addresses. IPv4 can no longer support this need for unique addresses because of the growing Internet population.
Another reason for upgrading to IPv6 is the need for better security. Sending personal information across a public medium like the Internet calls for data encryption (sort of like encoding) and other security measures. With identity theft being so prevalent today, it is important that hackers and thieves be unable to view your credit card or checking account information when you buy things off the Internet. IPv4 does not provide substantial protection for your sensitive data.

There are several other reasons that Internet Protocol version 4 must be upgraded to version 6. IPv4 has not been updated since 1981. The protocol has had a good run, but as with anything in the realm of computers, it has now become obsolete.

How does IPv6 provide more IP addresses? IP addresses are provided by using a series of 1's and 0's (called "bits"), grouped and organized in a manner determined by certain standards. Internet Protocol version 4 uses 32 of these bits. Together, the value of each bit (1 or 0) determines what the IP address

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>