Frequently Asked Question:

1. What is IPv6

   IPv6 is a new version of the Internet Protocol (IP for short). In the future, it will replace the current IPv4 protocol that is currently used on the Internet.

2. Why is there a need for IPv6?

   Mostly because IPv4 addresses are becoming a scarce resource.

   Every device connected to the Internet needs its own IP address. In IPv4, there is a theoretical maximum of 4,294,967,296 IP addresses (that's about 4.2 Billion), which might seem like a high number, but when you count the fact that we are 6.5 Billion people on Earth and that every piece of telecommunications equipment related to Internet connectivity needs its own IP addresses, it is not enough, especially since some of this space is used for routing and sub-netting purposes.

   Again, in theory, IPv6 allows 3.4x10exp38 addresses - that's 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,770,000,000 addresses, which is a very large number indeed!

   It means that every human on Earth could in theory use 5x10exp28, that's roughly 50,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 IP addresses - which is enough for your home computer, your laptop, your mobile phone, your PDA, your robot, and virtually anything electronic around you.

   If we want to connect the next billion Internet users, we will need IPv6.

3. What are the major advantages of IPv6?
   • Scalability. IPv6 has 128-bit address space, which is 4 times wider in bits in compared to IPv4's 32-bit address space.
   • Security. IPv6 includes security in the basic spec. It includes encryption of packets (ESP: Encapsulated Security Payload) and authentication of the sender of packets (AH: Authentication Header).
   • Consideration to real-time. To implement better support for real-time traffic (for instance videoconference), IPv6 includes flow label in the spec. With flow label mechanism, routers can recognize to which end-to-end flow the packets belongs.
   • Plug and play. IPv6 includes plug and play in the standard spec. It therefore must be easier for beginner users to connect their machines to the network. It will be done automatically.
   • Clearer spec and optimization. IPv6 follows good practices of IPv4, and rejects minor flaws/obsolete items of IPv4.
4. Is the Internet about to run out of IP address numbers?

   Yes, for the current IP version which is the IPv4 that draws attention to the Internet today, it has a limited amount of unused space remaining. While estimates vary, based on latest trends it is estimated that the current pool of unallocated IPv4 addresses will be consumed for a time around 2010 - 2011. However, a massive amount of IP address space exists under IPv6. In fact, IPv6 was purposely designed to fix the address limitations of IPv4. IPv6 addresses have been available for allocation since 1999 and the RIRs, ICANN, ISOC and others are motivating network operators to apply for IPv6 addresses and implement IPv6 in their networks.