Internet Protocol Version 6(IPv6)

Internet operates by transferring data between hosts in packets that are routed across networks as specified by routing protocols. These packets require an addressing scheme, such as IPv4 or IPv6, to specify their source and destination addresses. Each host, computer or other device on the Internet requires an IP address in order to communicate. The growth of the Internet has created a need for more addresses than are possible with IPv4.






Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a version of the Internet Protocol (IP) intended to succeed Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4), which currently directs most Internet traffic, but is running out of addresses. IPv6 allows up to 2128 addresses, a massive increase from the 232 (about 4.3 billion) addresses possible with IPv4, and includes several other improvements. To gain the full benefits of IPv6, most hosts on the Internet, as well as the networks connecting them, will need to deploy this protocol—a difficult transition. While deployment of IPv6 is accelerating, especially in the Asia-Pacific region and some European countries, areas such as the Americas and Africa are comparatively lagging in deployment of IPv6.



Advantages:

1) Larger address space

2) Mandatory network-layer security

3) Simplified processing by routers

4) Mobility



Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipv6