IPv4 and IPv6 Protocol Comparison: A Comprehensive Analysis

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Task 1: Protocol comparison

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Protocol Structure............................................................................................................................4
IPv4..............................................................................................................................................4
IPv6..............................................................................................................................................5
Addressing Scheme.........................................................................................................................6
IPv4..............................................................................................................................................6
IPv6..............................................................................................................................................6
Advantages and disadvantages........................................................................................................6
IPv4..............................................................................................................................................6
IPv6..............................................................................................................................................7
Performance.....................................................................................................................................7
Deployment figure in the last 5 years..............................................................................................8
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
List of Figures
Figure 1: Structure of IPv4..........................................................................................................................3
Figure 2: Structure of IPv6..........................................................................................................................5
Figure 3: Graph showing use of IPv4..........................................................................................................8
Figure 4: Graph showing use of IPv6..........................................................................................................8

Introduction
Internet Protocol (IP) is also known as IP address which is used for identifying the specific
device over the Internet. The IP is used for transferring the message from one node to another
over the Network. The IPv4 protocol is the most popular protocol used for transferring data
packets over the internet. It is the 4th version of the Internet Protocol which works on the
technology of connectionless protocol. There is no confirmation or information about the
receiver whether the receiver is receiving the packets or not [1]. This connectionless protocol
creates a Simple Virtual Layer for communication between devices. IPv6 is the advance version
of IPv4 which solve all the issue related to space arise in the IPv4 protocol. The need for more
internet address is fulfilled by the IPv6 protocol. This protocol support for Stateless and Stateful
Configuration including support for Quality of Services (QoS).In the following research, the
comparison of these protocols is shown in different aspects.

Protocol Structure
IPv4
Figure 1: Structure of IPv4
VER – This part shows the version number of an IP. The size of VER is 4 bits with binary value
0100.
HLEN – Header Length shows the length of the header to be included in the particular packet.
Service type – This part shows the type of service provided which include the handling of the
datagram. Reliability and throughput are also included in this.
Total Length – The total length specifies the number of bits occupied by the datagram i.e. the
length of the datagram.
Identification – the identification field includes the sequence number for each packet so that at
the receiver side each packet can be identified and arrange according to the message.
Flags – The flags are used to identify which packet is of the starting point and which packet is
the last packet.
Fragmentation offset – This part is used to represent the fragment and its location in the data
packet.

Time to live – This part is used for stopping the looping of the packet i.e. the highest number of
packets can be sent before the acknowledgment is received from the receiver side. The time of
the data packet is decided by this part.
Protocol – The upper layer protocol is specified by this part.
Header Checksum – The header value is checked with the router. So the packet is transferred or
discarded depending upon the value checked.
Source address – This field contains the address of the source who sent the packet.
Destination address – This part contains the address of the destination where the packet is to be
delivered.
Options – This field is used for storing values like Record-Route, Security, etc.
IPv6
Figure 2: Structure of IPv6
There are some different field added to the base header of IPv6 which are not present in IPv4.
PRI – Priority field is used for providing the priority to the specific packet in the traffic.
Flow label – Controls the flow of the data.
Payload Length – Total length of the datagram is defined by this field.

Next Header – the next header address is given by this field.
Hop Limit – The work of this is to define the life of the packet and how many packets can be
sent before any acknowledgment from the receiver side.
Addressing Scheme
IPv4
Addressing scheme in the IPv4 is of 32 bits binary value. There is about 4.3 billion address
available for assigning to the devices for connecting with the internet. Among these address, 3.7
billion address is used for assigning purposes and rest are used for some specific purposes which
include private addressing, multicasting, etc. This scheme provides four decimal digit values for
addressing.
Example: 120.23.45.0
IPv6
The IPv4 has less space for addressing so IPv6 is given with the 128 bits of space for storing the
address which displays 32 hexadecimal digits. This addressing can provide about 3.4 * 1038
address. These much IP address can be used for more devices which are about to connect to the
internet in the future. There is a new addressing mode introduced named Anycast Addressing
Mode [2].
Example: 2dfc:7654:0:0: 2922:cbff:fe8c:0
Advantages and disadvantages
IPv4
Advantages:
Simple to design and suitable for all topologies
Easy to remember as it contains only 4 digit decimal value
Easy handling and less issue for handling IPv4 Routing
Easy management of devices and new devices can be easily connected

High level of security using other tools and different methods available depending upon
requirements
Scalable and flexible
Disadvantages:
Address space is limited which allows only 4.3 billion addresses
The routing is based on the flat routing infrastructure
Not suitable for Mobile networks
There is no support for auto-configuration, there is manual configuration
Less support for Quality of Services (QoS)
IPv6
Advantages:
Large space available for addressing which allows 3.4 * 1038 address to be used by devices
Auto-Configuration feature is available in this protocol
Good Level of security than IPv4
Router processing is more simple and optimized
Suitable for mobile networks and provide a high level of transmission security
Disadvantages:
The address is hard to remember
The machine which working on IPv4 cannot use this protocol
Performance
IPv6 is the advance version of the Ipv4 as the new protocol is added with the different feature for
supporting better addressing scheme, better security, and other features. IPv4 is faster than the
IPv6 as there are lots of things to concern in IPv6. The more addressing space take little bit more

time as it is of 128 bit four times more than address space of IPv4. This also affects the stability
of IPv6 which is less stable than the IPv4. IPv6 reduces the routing table as a result of routing
become more efficient. NAT (Network Address Translation) already expanded the life for IPv4.
There are different factors which make it possible for IPv4 to survive and provide better
performance than earlier. IPv6 provides more future than IPv4. The handling of routing more
efficiently help in easy transmission without any other interruption [2].
Deployment figure in the last 5 years
It’s been long that the IPv6 is made publically but the IPv4 still used by many organizations.
23% of the organization have started using IPv6 protocols. According to the research, at the end
of 2019, the use of IPv6 will exceed 50% of total usage. Almost all the browsers and OS support
IPv6 [3]. Both network smartphones and computers are start supporting IPv6 and able to access
the website based on IPv6. The application running on the server is also capable of using the
IPv6 protocol. The following graph shows the use of IPv4 and IPv6 in the last few years and
what it will become in the future.
Figure 3: Graph showing the use of IPv4

Figure 4: Graph showing the use of IPv6

Conclusion
The IPv4 has many good features but with the extending technologies and number of the device, IPv4
cannot survive for such a large number of devices. IPv6 is an advance version of the Ipv4 and will be
adopted in every field in the coming future [4].

References
[1] D. R. Al-Ani and A. R. Al-Ani, "The performance of IPv4 and IPv6 in terms of Routing
Protocols using GNS 3 Simulator," Procedia computer science, vol. 130, pp. 1051-1056,
2018.
[2] M. S. Ali and T. A. Yahiya, "Performance Analysis of Native Ipv4/Ipv6 Networks
Compared to 6to4 Tunnelling Mechanism," in 2018 International Conference on Advanced
Science and Engineering (ICOASE), 2018.
[3] "What is The Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6 Addressing," Softwaretestinghelp.com,
[Online]. Available: https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/ipv4-and-ipv6/. [Accessed 17
August 2019].
[4] E. Carisimo, C. Selmo, J. I. Alvarez-Hamelin and A. Dhamdhere, "Studying the evolution of
content providers in IPv4 and IPv6 internet cores," Computer Communications, vol. 20, no.
11, 2019.