Why IPv6?
- We apparently ran out of IPv4 addresses according to the Internet Architecture Board (IAB):
“the pool of unassigned IPv4 addresses has been exhausted”
- It is the future. According to the IAB:
“Preparation for this transition requires ensuring that many different environments are capable of operating completely on IPv6 without being dependent on IPv4 [see RFC 6540]. We recommend that all networking standards assume the use of IPv6, and be written so they do not require IPv4. We recommend that existing standards be reviewed to ensure they will work with IPv6, and use IPv6 examples. Backward connectivity to IPv4, via dual-stack or a transition technology, will be needed for some time. The key issue for SDOs is to remove any obstacles in their standards which prevent or slow down the transition in different environments.”
As far as I can tell, this means that eventually IPv4 support will wane in favor of IPv6.
- It is also supposed to improve security because it is supposed to have native support for end-to-end encryption, secure neighbor discovery, and a larger address space (harder to brute force through addresses), but many also argue that misconfiguration or inadequate support in firewalls along with untrained network admins and security specialists could result in less security in its current…