Differences: IPv4 vs IPv6
Differences between: IPv4 vs. IPv6:
- Size of IP address
- IPv4: 32-Bit IP Address.
- IPv6: 128 Bit IP Address.
- Number of header fields
- IPv4: 12
- IPv6: 8
- Length of header filed:
- IPv4: 20
- IPv6: 40
- Example
- IPv4: 123.44.132.15
- IPv6: 2001:0ca6:0000:0000:0000:dd00:0082:52a9
- Type of Addresses
- IPv4: Unicast, broadcast, and multicast.
- IPv6: Unicast, multicast, and anycast.
- Number of classes
- IPv4: Offers five different classes of IP Address, Class A to E.
- lPv6 Allows storing an unlimited number of IP Address.
- Configuration You have to configure a newly installed system before it can communicate with other systems. In IPv6, the configuration is optional, depending upon on functions needed.
- VLSM support IPv4 support VLSM (Virtual Length Subnet Mask). IPv6 does not offer support for VLSM.
- Routing Information Protocol (RIP)
- IPv4: Supports RIP routing.
- IPv6: Does not support RIP routing, uses static routes.
- Network Configuration
- IPv4: Networks need to be configured either manually or with DHCP.
- IPv6: Support auto-configuration capabilities.
- Address Masks:
- IPv4: Designated network from host portion.
- IPv6: Not used.
- SNMP (protocol used for system management):
- IPv4: SNMP is supported.
- IPv6: SNMP is not support.
- Mobility and Interoperability:
- IPv4: Relatively constrained network topologies to which move restrict mobility and interoperability capabilities.
- IPv6: Provides interoperability and mobility capabilities which are embedded in network devices.
- Packet size:
- IPv4: 576 bytes required, optional fragmentation.
- IPv6: 1208 bytes required without fragmentation.
- Packet Fragmentation:
- IPv4: Fragmentation is done by sending and forwarding routes.
- IPv6: Fragmentation is done by the sender.
- Packet header:
- IPv4: Does not identify packet flow for QoS handling which includes checksum options.
- IPv6: Packet head contains Flow Label field that specifies packet flow for QoS handling
- DNS records:
- IPv4: Address (A) records, maps hostnames
- IPv6: Address (AAAA) records, maps hostnames
- Local subnet Group management:
- IPv4: Internet Group Management Protocol GMP)
- IPv6: Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD)
- Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) [network security]:
- IPv4: Optional, not designed with security in mind
- IPv6: Mandatory, usable with a proper key infrastructure
- Address configuration:
- IPv4: Manual or via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) whenever they connect to a network
- IPv6: Stateless address autoconfiguration using ICMPv6 (Internet Control Message Protocol version 6) or DHCPv6
- Mobile devices compatibility:
- IPv4: address uses dot-decimal notation, which is not ideal for mobile networks.
- IPv6: address uses colon-separated hexadecimal notation, which is better suited for mobile networks.
- IP to MAC resolution:
- IPv6: Broadcast ARP
- IPv6: Multicast Neighbour Solicitation
- Mapping IP Address to MAC address:
- IPv4:Uses ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) .
- IPv6:Uses NDP (Neighbour Discovery Protocol).
- Optional Fields:
- IPv4: Has optional fields
- IPv6: No optional fields, has extension headers (if needed).
- Checksum:
- IPv4: Has checksum fields.
- IPv6: Does not have checksum fields.