What is the Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6?

Internet protocol address is the numeric or alphanumeric string that is used to identify a computer on the web. So, what is my ip? IP addresses have packets that contain the server and host computer information to transfer data between the two. They have many benefits and advantages, including the additional security they provide when you enter a site, secure mail, deals with high web traffic, etc.

Versions of Internet Protocol (IP)

There are two known versions of the internet protocol, these are :

• Ipv4
• Ipv6

The ipv4 is a string of 32-bit numeric characters that carry over 3 billion addresses on the internet. It is responsible for a large percentage of web traffic, and its binary characters are separated using dots.

The ipv6, on the other hand, is a 128-bit alphanumeric string address that contains over  300 undecillion addresses. It is a next-generation internet protocol that was developed to counter all the problems associated with ipv4.

Differences Between ipv4 and ipv6

The ipv4 protocol has a limited number of addresses it can assign; although the ipv6 is also limited, it accepts over 300 undecillion.

Ipv4 is a 32-bit numeric string distinguished by (.), ipv6 is a strong alphanumeric address that is set apart by (:).

While the ipv4 has an error detection data block called a checksum, however, the ipv6 does not have a checksum. Ipv6 is fragmented from the host’s computer, while ipv4 fragmentation is done by the server and the host.

Although they can both be found on the same interface, the interaction between ipv4 and ipv6 cannot occur. The inability of the two to interact with each other is known as Dual-Stack.

How To Change Your IP Address

When using a windows device, changing from ipv4 to ipv6 is possible. It all depends on your preferences.

First, you need to open your control panel, and you can do this by clicking the Windows button and going to settings or using the shortcut (Windows Key + X Key)

Next, you go to your internet settings and click on either your wifi or ethernet connection. After that, you click IP assignment and click edit.

While editing, you can choose to either automatically or manually configure your DHCP.

When using manual settings, you can specify either ipv4 or ipv6. For ipv4, you click manual and select ipv4, and if you want ipv6, you can just click ipv6 instead.

However, when you use automatic settings, your router chooses what version of IP it wants to configure. After configuring to your specifications. Simply click Save and exit settings.

Ipv6 is preferable when searching for an option with faster connections. This is because ipv6 does not require network-address translation (NAT), unlike ipv4. Because there are a limited number of ipv4 addresses left to go around, unique addresses are no longer assigned, and this causes an increase in web traffic for ipv4 proxy.

Finally, when considering IP addresses and their various versions, it’s important to note that some operating systems come with pre-installed versions, for OSs like windows and Linux, ipv6 is used.