1. Running Head: IPv6 vs. IPv4
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In 1970 the current version of the Internet Protocol IPv4 was developed with the
assumption that it would last for years to come but as time passed it became clear that IPv4
would not suffice with the expanding internet usage and functionality.
In 1994 the Internet Engineering Task Force began to develop IPv6. This was based on a
128-bit address size that substantially exceeded the original 32-bit system used in IPv4. IPv6
provides enough possible address to cover every inhabitant on planet earth several times over so
it is safe to assume that IPv6 will solve our IP address exhaustion problems for a considerable
amount of time. The goal over the coming years is to phase out IPv4 as we slowly transition to
IPv6; with the massive number of devices requiring IP address today, the implementation of
IPv6 is crucial to the development, security and support of a rapidly expanding tech savvy
population.
IPv4 is a protocol that provides an addressing capability of approximately 4.3 billion
addresses and it uses a packet-switching Link Layer Network (Differences between IPv4 and
IPv6). IPv6 has the capability to provide an infinite number of addresses which would
accommodate the growing number of networks worldwide. IPv4 uses four 1 byte decimal
numbers that are separated by a dot while IPv6 uses hexadecimal numbers that are separated by
colons. An example of an IPv6 address is 2041:0000:130F:0000:0000:07C0:853A:140B whereas
an IPv4 address looks like this 192.168.32.16. By looking at these two different addresses you
can see that IPv6 contains a substantially greater amount of numbers compared to the IPv4
address; from this example we can see that the IPv6 address would be able to provide a much
higher count of IP addresses compared to IPv4.

2. 2
So let’s break down an IPv6 address of 2041:0000:130F:0000:0000:07C0:853A:140B.
Let’s start with the 2041:0000:130F:0000; this is the global prefix of the IPv6 address followed
by the 0000 which is the subnet and the 0000:07C0:853A:140B which is the interface ID. Now
we can take this address and make it substantially shorter. When there are a field of zeros such as
the subnet and part of the interface ID we can represent those zeros as colons “ :: “ like so. If
there is a zero at the beginning of a field we can remove it because we know that there are 4
digits so we know that there is a zero in the space. If we break down the above mentioned IPv6
address we would get 2041:0:130F::7C0:853A:140B, you can see that the address is
substantially shorter and easier to read (Orbit-Computer Solutions.Com).
In Linux a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server can be configured to
use IPv6 by using the DHCP client. First you would need to install the dhclient with a command
of $ yum install dhclient, once the dhclient requests and establishes a lease it will store the
information about the lease in a file named dhclient.leases which is stored in the /var/lib/dhclient
directory. To configure IPv6 you would enter:
$ cat /etc/dhclient.conf
Interface “eth0”
{
Send dhcp-client-identifier 1:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx;
Send dhcp-lease-time 86400;
}

3. 3
The 1 in the dhcp-client-identifier will specify an Ethernet network and xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx is the
MAC address of the device controlling that interface. (Sobell)
What the DHCP for IPv6 does is it enables the DHCP servers to pass configuration
parameters such as network address to the nodes. DHCPv6 is different than DHCPv4, firstly
DHCPv4 was often used to manage the limited address pool. With today’s IP address exhaustion
this was very useful but with the implementation of IPv6 there is no longer a need to reallocate
those addresses.DHCPv6 uses a mandatory DUID (DHCP Unique Identifiers) which is used to
identify hosts. IPv6 is configured with many different auto configurations that allow the
computer to pull all the information automatically that DHCP used to do in IPv4 (Ullrich, 2013).
There isn’t as much of a need for DHCPv6 because of these auto configuration protocols
however it can still be useful if there is more information that needs to obtain aside from a router
or the IP address.
IPv6 will eliminate the need for the worlds rapidly decreasing number of readily
available IP address that IPv4 offer. Over the next several years as IPv6 is implemented it will
allow the expansion of worldwide networks to limitless ends for the number of devices that can
be used.

4. 4
References
Das, K. (n.d.). IPv6 - The History and Timeline. Retrieved from IPv6.com:
http://www.ipv6.com/articles/general/timeline-of-ipv6.htm
Differences between IPv4 and IPv6. (n.d.). Retrieved from Linksys:
http://kb.linksys.com/Linksys/ukp.aspx?pid=80&vw=1&articleid=23902
Orbit-Computer Solutions.Com. (n.d.). Retrieved 2013, from IPv6 Address Expression and
Examples: http://orbit-computer-solutions.com/IPv6-Address-Expression-and-Examples-
.php
Sobell, M. (n.d.). SearchITChannel. Retrieved from Linux DHCP server and cleint:
Configuration and deployment: http://searchitchannel.techtarget.com/feature/Linux-
DHCP-server-and-client-Configuration-and-deployment
Ullrich, J. (2013, 03 18). InfoSec Handlers Diary Blog. Retrieved from IPv6 Focus Month: What
is changing with DHCP:
https://isc.sans.edu/diary/IPv6+Focus+Month%3A+What+is+changing+with+DHCP/154
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