Networking
Before / after
Before IPv6, the Internet Was Running Out
Before IPv6, the internet was literally running out of addresses
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Lesson notes
Key points
- With IPv4's 32-bit addresses, only about 4.3 billion exist, so regional registries ran dry and networks leaned heavily on NAT.
- IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses written in hexadecimal, giving every device a global address and simplifying headers and autoconfiguration.
Takeaway: IPv6's 128-bit space ended the address shortage IPv4 created.
Quick check: How many bits long is an IPv6 address?
- 32 bits
- 64 bits
- 128 bits
IPv6 addresses are 128 bits, versus 32 bits for IPv4.
IPv4 exhaustionIPv6
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