Convert IPv4 to IPv6 Address
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IPv4 to IPv6 mapping
IPv6 is vital for the long-term health of the internet system. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit long and are four times longer than IPv4 addresses, which are 32-bit long. The IPv4 address can still be written in IPv6 notation. To convert Internet Protocol 4 (IPv4) to Internet Protocol 6 (IPv6), perform the following steps.
- Open the tool: IPv4 to IPv6 converter.
- Enter any valid IPv4 address, and click on the "Convert to IPv6" button.
- The tool will process your request and provide you the converted IPv6 address.
- The tool provides you IPv6 Compressed, IPv6 Expanded (Shortened), and IPv6 Expanded form.
What is Internet Protocol (IP)?
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the protocol that helps and facilitates computers/devices to communicate with each other over the network.
When the computer tries to send the data, it gets broken down into small chunks, called packets. To ensure that these packets lands on the correct destination, each includes the IP information.
Internet Protocol (IP) is the set of rules that helps and facilitates the routing of data packets to move across the network and land on the correct destination.
Each device or domain on the internet has a unique IP address that identifies and distinguishes it from other devices on the network. If you visit "Whats my IP address", you will get the information about your network IP and location of your IP. The IP address you might be familiar with looks like this: 8.8.8.8
However, there are two versions of Internet Protocol (IP)
What is IPv4?
IPv4, also known as the Internet Protocol Version 4, is the type of protocol launched way back in 1983 in the ARPANET and still the most well-known and used version to identify the devices on the internet.
The IPv4 address uses a 32-bit address, which is the most familiar type that you see when you search for an IP. The 32-bit address space provides almost 4.3 billion unique addresses. However, some of them are reserved for private use. An example of an IPv4 address is 1.1.1.1
What is IPv6?
IPv6, also known as the Internet Protocol Version 6, is the newest version of Internet protocol. The IPv6 address uses a 128-bit address format and includes both numbers and letters.
An example of an IPv6 address is 2001:4860:4860:0000:0000:0000:0000:8888
The above one is an expanded IPv6 form of one of Google DNS servers. You can also compress the IPv6 with this tool.
IPv4 VS IPv6
| IPv4 | IPv6 |
|---|---|
| IPv4 has a 32-bit length address. | IPv6 has a 128-bit length address. |
| IPv4 has four numbers separated by dots. | IPv6 uses hexadecimal numbers separated with colon(:) |
| IPv4 is in decimal format. | IPv6 is in hexadecimal format. |
| IPv4 supports about 4.29 billion addresses | IPv6 supports 340, 282, 366, 920, 938, 463, 463, 374, 607, 431, 768, 211, 456 unique addresses |
| IPv4 has a header of 20 to 60 bytes. | IPv6 has a header of 40 bytes fixed. |
| IPv4 supports manual, and DHCP address configuration. | IPv6 supports auto and renumbering address configuration. |
| In IPv4, the fragmentation is primarily done by the sender and the forwarding routers. | In IPv6, the fragmentation is done mainly by the sender. |
| In IPv4 checksum field is available. | In IPv6 checksum field is unavailable. |
| In IPv4, packet flow identification is not available. | In IPv6, packet flow identification is available and uses a flow label field in the header. |
| In IPv4, the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) stands at 576 bytes. | In IPv6, the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) stands at 1280 bytes. |
An example of IPv4 is 8.8.8.8. |
An example of IPv6 is 2001:4860:4860:0000:0000:0000:0000:8888. |
Why we need to switch from IPv4 to IPv6, and what are the benefits of using IPv6?
The exponential growth in demand for the internet led to the shortage of IPv4 addresses. The IPv6 addresses system provides room for nearly an infinite number of IP addresses. There are some technical differences between IPv4 and IPv6. But an average user does not need to know them.
The IPv6 provides some improvements over IPv4, and these are
- Built-in Quality of Service (QoS).
- Built-in network security layer (IPsec).
- No more Network Address Translation (NAT). IPv6 allows end-to-end connectivity at the IP layer.
- Better multicasting routing, and its a part of base specifications in IPv6, while its optional in IPv4.
- Simplified and larger packet headers (about twice as large as IPv4).
- Simplified and more efficient routing.
Will IPv4 and IPv6 co-exist?
It is more likely that both protocols will co-exist even though IPv6 is a more advanced and improved version than IPv4. That will happen because of the existence of the techniques relying both on IPv4 and IPv6 systems.
The ability of the networks to accommodate both IPv4 and IPv6 at the same time also supports their co-existence. However, the dual traffic of both protocols on the same network creates some differences and will be pretty challenging for both of them to work together.
Which is faster, IPv4 or IPv6?
Although, there is no significant speed difference between IPv4 and IPv6. But some evidence suggests that IPv6 performs better than IPv4. For example, Facebook's Engineering blog stated that accessing Facebook can become 10 to 15 percent faster over IPv6.