IPv6
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Networking
| Stands for | Internet Protocol version 6 |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
IPv6 stands for Internet Protocol version 6, a networking abbreviation.
Successor to IPv4 with 128-bit addresses written as hexadecimal groups separated by colons, such as 2001:db8::1, enough for roughly 340 undecillion addresses. IPv6 also simplifies the packet header and replaces ARP and broadcasts with neighbor discovery and multicast.
Example: Our ISP finally enabled IPv6, so the router now hands out global addresses starting with 2a02.
Usage notes
First specified in RFC 2460 in 1998 and updated by RFC 8200 in 2017. One run of zero groups can be shortened with a double colon, so ::1 is the loopback address. IPv4 and IPv6 cannot talk to each other directly, so most networks run both side by side, a setup called dual stack. Address shortage is not the only benefit: IPv6 removes much of the need for NAT.
Related abbreviations
More networking abbreviations
- ICMP – Internet Control Message Protocol
- IETF – Internet Engineering Task Force
- IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol
- IP – Internet Protocol
- IPsec – Internet Protocol Security
- IPv4 – Internet Protocol version 4
- IRC – Internet Relay Chat
- IS-IS – Intermediate System to Intermediate System
- iSCSI – Internet Small Computer Systems Interface
- ISP – Internet service provider
- IXP – Internet exchange point
- L2TP – Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol