Buzz
IP is considered your unique address on the Internet through which you can communicate with the outside world. This is similar to sending mail to friends and family where you need a clear address for both sending and receiving. Your IP range will consist of a series of numbers, converted into domain names for easier memorization through the Domain Name System (DNS).
As a finite sequence of limited numbers arranged in a pattern, the number of IPv4 addresses is dwindling, especially in the era of the explosive and widespread Internet. The rapid development of the Internet demands an IP system upgrade to meet the needs of users. For this reason, IPv6 addresses have emerged.
Distinguishing between IPv4 and IPv6
The most noticeable difference between IPv4 and IPv6 is the length of the addresses.
For IPv4
IPv4 currently in use comprises 32 bits, consisting of 4 numbers separated by dots. For example: 10.2.25.134
Each part in the IPv4 sequence is referred to as an Octet and contains 1 byte of data
For IPv6
IPv6 consists of 128 bits, thus the length of the IP will be larger, equivalent to creating addresses from a set of 128-bit numbers which will be significantly larger
IPv6 addresses will be written in 8 groups, each group containing 4 numbers in hexadecimal separated by “:”
For example: 2001:260:0:10:0:0:0:1
Guide to Abbreviating IPv6
Due to the large number of digits in IPv6 addresses, memorizing or jotting down these addresses often takes a considerable amount of time. For this reason, IPv6 has been standardized with some abbreviation rules as follows:
- Leading zeros in each group can be omitted
- A sequence entirely of zeros can be condensed to just one zero
- A sequence with multiple blocks containing only zeros can be replaced by a colon “:”
For example: The IP address 2001:0260:0000:0010:0000:0000:0000:0001 will be abbreviated as
2001:260:0:10::1
(The colon “:” should only be used once in an IP address)
Using IPv6 in URLs
Typically, for a website, an IPv4 address 10.2.25.134 will be assigned. The administrator will need to replace the above difficult and complex IP line with a clear domain name and resolve them with DNS, for example, https://Mytour
Of particular note is that sometimes to access a website with a fixed port, you will need to access it with a clear port address separated by a colon “:”.
For example: If you want to access a website with IP 10.2.24.134 on port 80, you need to type into the address bar http://10.2.24.134:80
This clearly will affect the implementation of IPv6 because IPv6 blocks are often separated by colons, the resolver system will not distinguish what is a valid address if you add a port “:” afterwards.
To achieve this, if you want to access a website using IPv6 with a fixed port for service access, you type in the following format
http://[2001:260:0:10:0:0:0:1]:80/
or
http://[2001:260:0:10::1]:80/
This article has introduced you to some information about IPv6 as well as distinguishing the differences between IPv4 and IPv6. This concept will continue to be mentioned a lot in the future. Besides, for each different network connection, you should also set up a static IP address to protect your internet network at home or work, refer to the method of setting up a static IP address that we have introduced.
