IPv6 VS IPv4
Some of my friends have been so excited about IPv6 mainly because they heard it was being rolled out in the university in a few months. I can understand the excitement, I mean, most of them are expecting incredible lightning internet speeds and there are rumours and murmurs going around that this is a complete overhaul of the network layer protocol.
Well the main reason why I decided to write on this is not because IPv6 is a new technology, its’ been around for some time, only that it has not been implemented fully yet and I also want to dispel some of the above rumours.
Well you have a reason to be excited about IPv6 because it’s going to bring a lot of improved security features to the table and also new ways to control data flow over an entire network making it a tad more efficient and well, faster but saying that it’s a new page in the network layer protocol is a complete lie. IPv6 is more of an evolution than it is an invention. IPv6 takes off from where IPv4 left off and builds on some of its greatest features and also improves on some of the mistakes.
We are all used to the normal IP addresses we give ourselves when setting up our networks I mean the 172.16.x.x or something like that. With the introduction of IPv6, this is the most notable change that people are going to notice. Instead of the normal 32bit address size we are all so fond of, we go to 128bits. This basically means more space for new machines as well as expanded addressing capabilities. The extra bits that are being added to this are basically for better flow control, some more security features, support for more options to be included later in case of anything through the use of extensions and simplification of the header format.
Header format in IP terms can be looked at as the contents page of a book. It contains all the information about the data it is carrying, where it is going, its length and where it is going to. Referring to my previous blog entry, one can look at an IPv4 header as X86 processors while the IPv6 header as an ARM based processor. This is to say that the IPv4 header contains so many details some of which are not necessarily helpful even though some people might disagree while the IPv6 header contains only the basic data required and it is kept to a standard size making it easier and faster to process, pretty much the same concept employed in the RISC architecture. This improvement I guess translates to a small boost in the speed of data flow over the entire network thus with IPv6, well when it’s fully implemented, one should see a slight increase in download speeds. I would like to clarify that it should be fully implemented for you to realize that slight boost in speed. Many organizations that have IPv6 don’t have it fully implemented but only runs in islands using IPv4 as the backbone.
IPv6 is also designed to run in a much more dynamic environment the only problem being that this results in a much more sophisticated operating environment thus slightly advanced equipment is required which also results in cost issues. I know most of us would like to be able to set up a functioning network with good speeds and little or no disruptions at all on a pocket friendly budget but the reality on the ground is different but then again if you want the best you must be willing to spent (that kinda rhymed, I like it lol). There are many companies out there providing networking equipment and support the most common being CISCO and I know for a fact that a CISCO switch/router is not easy to come by, unless you are a big company, and implementation of an IPV6 network would require purchasing of new switches, well not all and probably a new server too if you want to milk IPv6 for all its worth and see the benefits. Well implementation of IPv6 will take some time before we can be able to fully implement it. It is not possible to just switch over to it like it was done with IPv3 in 1983.
In case you were wondering what happened to IPv5, well, it exists only that it goes by a different name ST2 or Internet Streaming Protocol. In geeky terms, it allows applications to build multi destination simplex data streams for quality service. The major uses of IPv5 are in the multimedia industry and gaming industry. Well you know how you can play FIFA12 with someone in China or even in the same room over the internet. Programs like Skype also use it a lot to reserve bandwidth for real time video chatting over the internet. In summary we could say:
1. IPv6 is only an evolution of IPv4
2. IPv6 merely tends to improve IPv4
3. IPv6 introduces a change in the address increasing it from 32 bits to 128 bits in size
4. IPv6 works best in a dynamic environment with automatic configuration and discovery of new end stations
5. IPv6 requires a slightly sophisticated environment
6. IPv6 will run on Islands using IPv4 as the backbone
It will bring in new features such as:
1. Header format simplification
2. Improved support for extensions thus providing greater flexibility for introduction of new options
3. Flow labeling capability i.e. it will be possible to label packets of data belonging to particular “traffic flows”
4. Authentication and privacy capabilities. There will be added support for authentication, data integrity and optional data confidentiality through the extensions.
All in all, it’s a good step forward and I look forward to the day it will be fully implemented in the university to enjoy its benefits. Find us on Google+
Well the main reason why I decided to write on this is not because IPv6 is a new technology, its’ been around for some time, only that it has not been implemented fully yet and I also want to dispel some of the above rumours.
Well you have a reason to be excited about IPv6 because it’s going to bring a lot of improved security features to the table and also new ways to control data flow over an entire network making it a tad more efficient and well, faster but saying that it’s a new page in the network layer protocol is a complete lie. IPv6 is more of an evolution than it is an invention. IPv6 takes off from where IPv4 left off and builds on some of its greatest features and also improves on some of the mistakes.
We are all used to the normal IP addresses we give ourselves when setting up our networks I mean the 172.16.x.x or something like that. With the introduction of IPv6, this is the most notable change that people are going to notice. Instead of the normal 32bit address size we are all so fond of, we go to 128bits. This basically means more space for new machines as well as expanded addressing capabilities. The extra bits that are being added to this are basically for better flow control, some more security features, support for more options to be included later in case of anything through the use of extensions and simplification of the header format.
Header format in IP terms can be looked at as the contents page of a book. It contains all the information about the data it is carrying, where it is going, its length and where it is going to. Referring to my previous blog entry, one can look at an IPv4 header as X86 processors while the IPv6 header as an ARM based processor. This is to say that the IPv4 header contains so many details some of which are not necessarily helpful even though some people might disagree while the IPv6 header contains only the basic data required and it is kept to a standard size making it easier and faster to process, pretty much the same concept employed in the RISC architecture. This improvement I guess translates to a small boost in the speed of data flow over the entire network thus with IPv6, well when it’s fully implemented, one should see a slight increase in download speeds. I would like to clarify that it should be fully implemented for you to realize that slight boost in speed. Many organizations that have IPv6 don’t have it fully implemented but only runs in islands using IPv4 as the backbone.
IPv6 is also designed to run in a much more dynamic environment the only problem being that this results in a much more sophisticated operating environment thus slightly advanced equipment is required which also results in cost issues. I know most of us would like to be able to set up a functioning network with good speeds and little or no disruptions at all on a pocket friendly budget but the reality on the ground is different but then again if you want the best you must be willing to spent (that kinda rhymed, I like it lol). There are many companies out there providing networking equipment and support the most common being CISCO and I know for a fact that a CISCO switch/router is not easy to come by, unless you are a big company, and implementation of an IPV6 network would require purchasing of new switches, well not all and probably a new server too if you want to milk IPv6 for all its worth and see the benefits. Well implementation of IPv6 will take some time before we can be able to fully implement it. It is not possible to just switch over to it like it was done with IPv3 in 1983.
In case you were wondering what happened to IPv5, well, it exists only that it goes by a different name ST2 or Internet Streaming Protocol. In geeky terms, it allows applications to build multi destination simplex data streams for quality service. The major uses of IPv5 are in the multimedia industry and gaming industry. Well you know how you can play FIFA12 with someone in China or even in the same room over the internet. Programs like Skype also use it a lot to reserve bandwidth for real time video chatting over the internet. In summary we could say:
1. IPv6 is only an evolution of IPv4
2. IPv6 merely tends to improve IPv4
3. IPv6 introduces a change in the address increasing it from 32 bits to 128 bits in size
4. IPv6 works best in a dynamic environment with automatic configuration and discovery of new end stations
5. IPv6 requires a slightly sophisticated environment
6. IPv6 will run on Islands using IPv4 as the backbone
It will bring in new features such as:
1. Header format simplification
2. Improved support for extensions thus providing greater flexibility for introduction of new options
3. Flow labeling capability i.e. it will be possible to label packets of data belonging to particular “traffic flows”
4. Authentication and privacy capabilities. There will be added support for authentication, data integrity and optional data confidentiality through the extensions.
All in all, it’s a good step forward and I look forward to the day it will be fully implemented in the university to enjoy its benefits. Find us on Google+
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