The three types of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) addresses are given below
- Unicast address – identifies a single interface
- Anycast address – identifies a set of interfaces. A packet sent to an anycast address is delivered to a member of the set.
- Multicast address – identifies a group of interfaces. A packet sent to a multicast address is delivered to all the interfaces in the group.
Aspirants would find this topic very helpful in the IAS Exam.
What is IPv6 used for?
Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) is a network layer protocol that allows communication and data transfers to take place over the network. IPv6 came into existence in 1998 with an objective of replacing IPv4.
What is the difference between Internet Protocol Version 4 and 6?
There are many differences between the two protocols. Some of the differences are given below.
Below table provides list of differences between IPv4 and IPv6
| Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) | Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) |
| It is a 32 bit IP address | It is a 128 bit IP address |
| It is a numeric addressing method | It is an alphanumeric addressing method |
| Security is dependent on applications, IPv4 wasn’t designed with security in mind | IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) is built into the IPv6 protocol |
| Offers 5 different classes of IP address, Class A to E. | Allows storing an unlimited number of IP address |
| Unicast, broadcast and multicast are the types of address | Unicast, multicast and anycast are the types of address |
| Number of header fields are 12 | Number of header fields are 8 |
| Length of header field 20 | Length of the header field 40 |
Which problem does Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) solve?
IPv6 was developed with the objective of solving the address space exhaustion in IPv4. IPv4 uses a 32-bit address scheme which allows it to store more than 4 billion addresses. IPv6 uses a 128-bit address scheme which allows 340 undecillion unique address space.
The above details would help candidates preparing for UPSC 2022.
Related Links
| IAS Salary | IAS Eligibility |
| Civil Service Exam | Static GK |
| Government Exams | UPSC Syllabus |
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