IPv4 and IPv6 are the past and the future of the internet addresses the way the devices would be communicating with each other. IPv4 is the old system of assigning the unique IP addresses to various devices enabling them to communicate and transfer data effectively.
IPv4 or the Internet Protocol Version 4 is the current way how we are actually using the IP addresses. Since it uses 32 bit so the total number of addresses that are available are just 2^32. Now that may sound astonishing but please pay an attention to the underlying facts as well. We have already allotted around 4.2 billion IP addresses to various institutes and devices. It’s not that we have run out of addresses but we may soon, cause most of the remaining addresses are already assigned to various institutes like MIT, IBM, etc and thus a IPv4 address is a very scarce resource and in future would become even more scarce when even these address are traded out.
IPv6 or the internet Protocol Version 6 is the new set of addresses that would be rolled out. The basic difference between the IPv4 and IPv6 remains that IPv6 utilities 128 bit addresses that is we would have 2^128 unique addresses , now that’s enough for each one of us.
Since IPv6 is still new and companies like Google,IBM,Facebook would be still checking its security and stability it would be fun to watch to see the world move from IPv4 to IPv6. In the mean time get your self this gadget to see the real-time countdown of saying bye to Ipv4.
IPv4 Exhaustion Counter
What is an IP address ?
Well to be brief the Internet operates by transferring data in small packets communications protocol known as the Internet Protocol. Each data packet contains two numeric addresses that are the packet’s origin and destination devices. So each device has its own unique address just like we have our own unique names and identifications that are independently routed across networks as specified by an internationalWhat is IPv4 and What’s the problem with it ?
IPv4 or the Internet Protocol Version 4 is the current way how we are actually using the IP addresses. Since it uses 32 bit so the total number of addresses that are available are just 2^32. Now that may sound astonishing but please pay an attention to the underlying facts as well. We have already allotted around 4.2 billion IP addresses to various institutes and devices. It’s not that we have run out of addresses but we may soon, cause most of the remaining addresses are already assigned to various institutes like MIT, IBM, etc and thus a IPv4 address is a very scarce resource and in future would become even more scarce when even these address are traded out.
What is IPv6 and How is it going to solve This Problem.
IPv6 or the internet Protocol Version 6 is the new set of addresses that would be rolled out. The basic difference between the IPv4 and IPv6 remains that IPv6 utilities 128 bit addresses that is we would have 2^128 unique addresses , now that’s enough for each one of us.
So what makes this transition so difficult.
Well this transition from IPv4 to IPv6 began around a decade ago but it was a slow transition because of the cost involved in it. The true test of IPv6 would be on June 8, 2011, World IPv6 Day. Google, Facebook and other prominent web companies will test drive the IPv6 network. Various techniques are used to move from IPv4 to IPv6 like, Dual IP Stacks ,Dual Stack Application Level Gateway (Dual Stack ALG),Network Address Translator – Protocol Translator (NAT-PT) ,Dual Stack Transition Mechanism, or DSTM ,IPv6 over IPv4 tunneling etc .A detailed description is available on Net just Google it or visit this link.How IPv4 to IPv6 transition is going to Affect Me?
Well perhaps it won’t and would both at same time. Most of the major operating systems like Windows XP Sp1, Mac OS X 10.2 support IPv6 and IPv4 as well. But it would be difficult to make a connection between a device with an IPv6 address to a router or server that only supports IPv4 impossible.Since IPv6 is still new and companies like Google,IBM,Facebook would be still checking its security and stability it would be fun to watch to see the world move from IPv4 to IPv6. In the mean time get your self this gadget to see the real-time countdown of saying bye to Ipv4.
IPv4 Exhaustion Counter