ASSIGNMENT # 1

Data Communication &

Networking
Submitted to: Sir Zishan Zafar
Submitted by: Muhammad Atif
21-UON-0926
BSCS 4th Evening

Topic:

IPv6 is still not much to design a network as compare to IPv4. What can be the reason that corporate
organizations are still avoiding the use of IPv6 for their networks?
 Data Communication & Networking

Table of Contents

• What is an IP address
• Types of IP addresses
• IPv4
o History
o Components
o Characteristics
o Advantages and Disadvantages
• IPv6
o History
o Components
o Characteristics
o Advantages and Disadvantages
• Difference between IPv4 & IPv6
• Reasons why IPv4 is still preferred over IPv6
• Conclusion
• References

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What is an IP Address?
An IP address is required when we access the internet, which acts as unique address for
the device from which we’re accessing the internet.

IP (Internet Protocol address) is basically a set of rules and a method which the device uses to
access the internet and the IP address serves as a unique identity of the device.

An IP address is designed to have a unique combination of numbers and periods, like

192.157.19.2. This unique combination is actually the unique identity of the device when it
connects to the internet.

Versions of IP Address
There are many versions of IP addresses but currently two of them are in use i.e.

• IPv4
• IPv6

As the use of internet is becoming more usual, the need for IP address is also increasing for
network devices. To meet the increasing demand of IP address, the original IP version, i.e., IPv4,
will not be able to fulfill the need of the users. So to deal with these circumstances, IPv6 was
introduced.

IPv4
• What is IPv4?

Internet protocol address version type 4 is the fourth version of IP which is developed by
DARPA. It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the
internet and other packet switched networks. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address space which provides 232
(4,294,967,296) unique addresses. The addresses in this type range from 0 to 255 in terms of 0s
and 1s, with four octets, each of them is separated by a dot (.). The network device uses binary
format, whereas the numerical format is used for the reference of the host.

• History

It was the first version deployed 42 years ago on SATNET (Atlantic Packet Satellite
Network) in 1982 and in January of 1983, it was deployed on ARPANET (Advanced Research
Projects Agency Network) for production. Even with the ongoing deployment of IPv6, it is still
used to route most of the internet traffic.

• Components
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IPv4 consists of two components i.e. Network and Host.

Network: This part represents a very unique numeric identifier assigned to our network. The
class of network is identified by this part.

Host: This part of the IP address is assigned to the hosts in our network. It is a unique hardware
identifier. In every IP address which exists in a network, networking part is always the same but
the host must be different.

e.g. 129.144.50.56

Network Host
Part Part

• Characteristics
➢ 32-bit address consisting of numeric characters which are separated by dots.
➢ 12 header fields. P
➢ Contains Unicast, Multicast, and broadcast styles of addresses.
➢ Manual assignment or by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).
➢ Uses pot address resolution.

• Advantages and Disadvantages of IPv4

Advantages:

➢ Significant network allocation.

➢ Easy attachment of several devices across an oversized network.
➢ Facilitates flawless encoding.
➢ Scalable and economic routing.

Disadvantages:

➢ IPv4 addresses are on the verge of exhaustion.

➢ High system management prices, complex, slow and labor-intensive.
➢ Insufficient internet routing.
➢ Non-obligatory security features.

IPv6
• What is IPv6?

An IPv6 address type is designed of 128 bits from which four are hexadecimal digits, and
it created eight sets with each block containing 16 bits separated by a colon (:). The total number
of addresses in IPv6 address type is almost 320 undecillion.

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For Example: FE10:CD11:0000:CE:1255:0000:211E:725C

• History

IPv6 is the most recent version of Internet Protocol. It was developed 27 years ago by
IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) to deal with the long-anticipated problem of IPv4
address exhaustion, and is intended to replace it. In December 1998, it became a draft standard
for IETF which ratified it as an internet standard on July 14, 2017.

• Components

An IPv6 address has two components i.e. Network and Node.

Network: It is the first 64 bits of the IP address and is used for routing.

Node: It is the later 64 bits of the address and is used to identify the address of the interface.

• Advantages and Disadvantages of IPv6

Advantages:

➢ Efficient routing
➢ Multi routing
➢ Directed local address
➢ Increased capacity and Network configuration
➢ More mobility

Disadvantages:

➢ System issues
➢ Complexity in the Network topology drawings
➢ Upgrading the devices
➢ Local networking changes
➢ Confusion in the IP schemes

Difference between IPv4 and IPv6:

• The IPv4 is a protocol for use on packet-switched Link Layer networks (e.g. Ethernet).
It provides an addressing capacity of around 4.3 billion addresses. While on the other
hand, the IPv6 is more advanced and has better features compared to IPv4. It has the
capability to provide an infinite number of addresses.

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• Another difference is the appearance of IP addresses. IPv4 uses four 1byte decimal
numbers, separated by a dot. While the IPv6 uses hexadecimal numbers that are separated
by colons.
• IPv4 consists of 32 bits, while there are 128 no. of bits on IP address in IPv6.
• IP security is required by IPv6, while it is optional in IPv4.
• IPv6 supports automatic network configuration, but in IPv4, networks are configured
either manually or by DHCPB.
• IPv4 has 20 header fields with an 8-character length, while IPv6 has eight header fields
with a 40-character length.
• IPv4 uses ARP (address resolution protocol), while IPv6 uses NDP (neighbor discovery
protocol).

Despite of its advantages over IPv4, why corporate organizations still avoid
the use of IPv6 and prefer using IPv4?
There could be several reasons why corporate organizations are avoiding the use of IPv6
for their networks. The main reason why corporate organizations are still using IPv4 instead of
IPv6 is because it takes a lot of time and resources for the transition from one IP address to the
other. After all, its quite costly and time-consuming to upgrade all the routers, servers and
switches that rely on IPv4. Despite the shortage of IPv4 addresses, the majority of internet still
uses IPv4 addresses. However, there have been several calls to action for organizations to deploy
the newer version of Internet Protocol, i.e. IPv6, which is designed to eventually replace the IPv4
protocol. And, while some companies have begun to make the switch, others have opted for the
cheaper and simpler option, i.e. sticking with IPv4.

Another possible reason could be the lack of awareness and training. Many network
administrators and IT professionals may still have limited knowledge and experience with IPv6.
This can also discourage the organizations from making the switch because in this case,
additional training and resources is required to up-skill their staff.

Some organizations may not have a pressing need for the larger address space and improved
features of IPv6 and the benefit of adopting IPv6 may not outweigh the cost and challenges
associated with the transition. So, they may choose to continue using IPv4 as long as their
networks are functioning adequately.

Conclusion:
To sum up all the talk, it has to be said that IPv6 has many advantages over IPv4 and has
many advanced features, but due to some of its limitations, it is not being adopted at a large scale
and the limited addresses of IPv4 will not be able to fulfill the requirements of the users. So it is
necessary for IPv6 to have backward compatibility with IPv4 to resolve the shortage of
addresses.

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References:
• Wikipedia.org
• VAS Experts.com
• cybernews.com
• Linksys.com
• Simplilearn.com
• Wisdomplexus.com