IPv6 protocol

Explain the IPv6 protocol header format.

• IPv6 stands for Internet Protocol Version 6.
• It is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol.
• It provides the host to host communication between systems in the Internet.
• It was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to deal with the long anticipated problem of IPv4.
• It provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the Internet.
• It increases the address size from 32 bits to 128 bits.
• It provides network layer security and better quality of service support.
• IPv6 addresses are 128 bits in length. Address is assigned to individual interface nodes, not to the node themselves. A single interface may have multiple unique unicast addresses. The first field of any IPv6 address is the variable length format prefix which identifies various categories of addresses.

• This 4 bits field defines the version number of the IP. The value is 6 for IPv6.

• This 4 bits priority field defines the priority of the packet with respect to traffic congestion.

• It is 24 bits field that is designed to provide special handling for a particular flow of data.

• The 16 bits payload length field defines the length of the IP datagram excluding the base header.

• It is an 8 bits field defining the header that follows the base header in the datagram.

• This 8 bits hop limit field serves the same purpose as the TTL field in IPv4.

• The source address field is a 128 bits Internet address that identifies the original.

• It is 128 bits Internet address that usually identifies the final destination of the diagram.

• IPv6 provides larger addressing space.
• It provides better header format.
• It supports resource allocation.
• It provides security capabilities.