IPv6 - we are ready, are you?

Why is IPv6 important?

In short, we will relatively soon run out of IP addresses in IPv4, which is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol.

The world needs more available IP addresses – and with IoT (Internet of Things) that need will only increase in the future. That is why IPv6 was designed and ratified in 2017.

So what is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6, you might ask?

As you can see from the examples below, an IP address in IPv6 has more characters and includes both numbers and letters. This means that the combinations are almost endless.

IP address with IPv4: 192.168.100.250

IP address with IPv6: 2001:db8:0012:0aq3:0ff4:ff00:42oi:8329

In other words: We won’t run out of IP addresses anytime soon using IPv6.

That is why we recommend our customers to move from IPv4 to IPv6. No matter what, the upgrade may soon become necessary due to the finite amount of IP addresses available with IPv4.

IPv6 is fully supported in the Enterprise Ready JetAdvice Edge.

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Support says

At EuroForm, we have relatively few customers who have chosen to upgrade to IPv6.

The challenge for many companies and organizations is to establish a strong WHY to make the change – and switch to IPv6.

We’ll work closely with our partners to help them achieve a good implementation of IPv6 – and make their digital infrastructure ready for the future.

Management says

When should we move to IPv6 and why? – Those are questions that we often get from our customers.

The short answer is, that if you don’t have a pressing need for more IP addresses, don’t go there yet.

When the need for more IP addresses occurs, then IPv6 is the answer.

At EuroForm, we experience several larger enterprises are looking at implementing IPv6. We know that it’s a pretty heavy process involving backend software and hardware like routers, switch, servers, digital strategy and so on. And you need to plan accordingly.

The nerds say

Do you know how data gets from “you” to the printer – and from the printer to JetAdvice?

If you’re considering moving from IPv4 to IPv6, maybe you want more info about the network layer (IPv4 or IPv6) – and the other six layers that all your data travels through.

Generally, all data travels via the OSI Protocol through seven different layers. It’s a very old standard – in 1977 the first ISO standard was released. For your convenience, we have written a short introduction to the OSI Protocols.

We can also recommend reading the IPv6 articles from redhat.com for more insights.

Facts

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP).

Its predecessor IPv4 was introduced in the beginning of 1980. IPv6 was designed to replace IPv4.

The first draft standard of IPv6 was done in 1998. On July 14, 2017, IPv6 was ratified as an Internet Standard.

Moving from IPv4 to IPv6 is not backwards compatible. The two protocols are not designed to be interoperable, and thus direct communication between them is impossible.

This complicates the move to IPv6. However, several transition mechanisms have been devised to rectify this.

The network layer (IPv4 or IPv6) is layer 3 in the OSI protocols.

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