IPv6: What It Is and What It Means for Your System
IPv6 is the sixth version of the Internet Protocol — the addressing system that identifies every device and server on the internet. It was developed to address the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses (4.3 billion addresses — long since insufficient for the number of connected devices worldwide). Understanding IPv6 helps you prepare for full internet compatibility.
IPv4 vs IPv6
- IPv4: 32-bit addresses — approximately 4.3 billion possible addresses. Example: 192.168.1.1. Exhausted — no new IPv4 addresses are available for allocation.
- IPv6: 128-bit addresses — approximately 340 undecillion possible addresses. Example: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334. More than enough for every device that will ever exist.
IPv6 Adoption
IPv6 adoption is growing — major mobile networks and ISPs increasingly assign IPv6 addresses to users. According to Google's measurements, approximately 40-45% of traffic globally is now IPv6. In the UK, major ISPs (BT, Sky, Virgin) have deployed IPv6 to residential customers.
Implications for Your Infrastructure
- Most modern cloud services (AWS, Azure, GCP) support IPv6 — requires configuration to enable
- Load balancers and CDNs should accept IPv6 connections — these clients form an increasing share of your user base
- Network security rules (security groups, NACLs) must be duplicated for IPv6 addresses
- Logging and monitoring systems must handle IPv6 addresses correctly
Our Approach
We configure dual-stack (IPv4 + IPv6) support on public-facing infrastructure. Internal infrastructure can remain IPv4-only — complexity without benefit in private networks.