Comparative Analysis of IPv4 and IPv6 Internet Protocols

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Comparison of IPv6 and IPv4..........................................................................................................3
Structure of the protocol..............................................................................................................3
Scheme of addressing..................................................................................................................4
Disadvantages and advantages....................................................................................................6
Advantages of IPv4..................................................................................................................6
Disadvantages of IPv4.............................................................................................................6
Advantages of IPv6..................................................................................................................6
Disadvantages of IPv6.............................................................................................................6
Performance.................................................................................................................................7
Figure of deployment...................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

Introduction
The report is about the IPv6 and Ipv4 protocol. This report covers the difference between the
Ipv6 and Ipv4 on the basis of structure, performance, scheme of addressing, disadvantages and
advantages.

Comparison of IPv6 and IPv4
IP is referred to as the internet protocol. This is a label in numerical form that is associated and
assigned with each electronic and computing device for the communication purpose. There the
different version of the internet protocol. Version 6 is the latest version of this. The first version
of this is Ipv4 and it is commonly used worldwide. IPv6 was created to fulfill the requirement of
more IP addresses.
Structure of the protocol
In IPv4 the representation of the address is in decimal. This enables to store 232 IP addresses. In
IPv6 the representation of the address is hexadecimal. This enables to create a large number of IP
addresses.
The address length of the IPv4 is 32-bit and address length of IPv6 is 128 bit. In the IPv4
integrity of connection is not achievable. But with IPv6 integrity of connection is achievable.
Figure 1 structure of Ipv4 and Ipv6
Source: [1]
 IPv4 is a connectionless protocol. Whereas the IPv6 has the stateless and stateful
configuration
 In IPv4 the security of protocol depends on the application but IPv6 has inbuilt feature for
security.
 In Ipv4 protocol, forwarding and sender routers are used to perform the fragmentation. In
Ipv6 only sender router is used in fragmentation.
 In the IPv4 identification of flow of packet is unavailable. In IPv6 flow, labels are used for
the identification of packet flow.
 In IPv4 Checksum is there. IPv6 does not have a checksum field [1].
 IPv4 uses address mask but IPv6 does not use it.
 IPv4 supports RIP protocol but IPv6 support static routing and does not provide support for
RIP.
 There are 5 types of classes in the IPv4 structure that is from A to E. In IPv6 there are
unlimited classes.
 Ipv4 has 4 blocks and each has 8 bits. The numerical value of each block range between 0-
255. In Ipv6 there are 8 blocks.
 Authentication and encryption are not supported in IPv4. IPv6 supports authentication and
encryption.

Scheme of addressing
 The IPv4 has support for both DHCP and manual configuration of address. IPv6 has support
for renumbering and auto-configuration of address.
 The IPv4 creates address space of size 4.29 * 109. The IPv6 has a large address space that is
of size 3.4*1038 [1].
 IPv4 is a binary-based address and dot (.) is used for the separation of binary bits. The IPv6 is
based on the alphanumeric address. Colon (:) is used for the separation of bits.
 IPv4 has 12 header fields whereas the IPv6 has less number of header fields that is 8.
 The header length in IPv4 is 20 and in IPv6 the header length is 40.
Figure 2 IPv4 datagram
Source: [5]
Figure 3 Ipv6 datagram
Source: [5]

 The VLSM is supported in the IPv4 but IPv6 does not support VLSM.
 IPv4 uses broadcasting as the scheme for message transmission and IPv6 uses anycasting and
multicasting as a transmission scheme.

Disadvantages and advantages
Advantages of IPv4
 This needs less amount of memory.
 It is easy to remember the IPv4 addresses
 Popular
Disadvantages of IPv4
 Has less number of IP addresses
 Requires to configure the network manually or using DHCP
 It needs efforts for the maintenance
 Does not support integrity for end-to-end connection
 Security of the protocol depends on the application
 Restriction of mobility
Advantages of IPv6
 This has support for QoS that is quality of service
 Offers a large range of address space
 The device itself can allocate the address
 Support the security feature using the IPSec protocol
 Has a powerful internet
 Provides more efficient routing
 Directs the flow of data
 Has a simple configuration of the network
 Offers support for latest services
 Processing of packet can be done efficiently [4].
Disadvantages of IPv6
 It is difficult to remember such a large address
 Replacement cost is high from IPv4 to IPv6
 Not so much popular

Performance
According to the outcomes published by Sucuri of the test of performance for IPv4 and IPv6, the
following conclusions can be drawn for the performance:
IPv4 is faster than IPv6. The location is also a factor that affects the speed and performance. The
Ipv4 is more stable than the IPv6. Test results of the performance are given below in the
screenshot [2].
Figure 4 performance summary statics of locations
Source: [2]
On the basis of various tests performed on various countries and on different websites, it has
been analyzed that performance of IPv6 and IPv4 is almost equal. In terms of security, the Ipv6

is better than the Ipv4 [3]. The IPv6 also has some issues but in terms of performance, it is safe
to migrate to IPv6.
Figure of deployment
IPv6 is now becoming popular day by day since last some years. The available number of IPv4
addresses is not sufficient according to the growing population. Thus, people are moving towards
the use of Ipv6 as it provides a large number of addresses [3].
Figure 5 statics of Ipv6 adoption
Source: [3]

Conclusion
The IP means internet protocol. Both the IP protocols have their own set of advantages and
disadvantages, scheme for addressing and structure. The IPv4 is commonly used but IPv6 use is
also growing rapidly due to the security and large address space.

References
[1]"Differences between IPv4 and IPv6 - GeeksforGeeks", GeeksforGeeks, 2019. [Online].
Available: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/differences-between-ipv4-and-ipv6/. [Accessed:
17- Aug- 2019].
[2]S. Writer, "IPv4 vs IPv6 – Performance comparison", Mybroadband.co.za, 2016. [Online].
Available: https://mybroadband.co.za/news/internet/187975-ipv4-vs-ipv6-performance-
comparison.html. [Accessed: 17- Aug- 2019].
[3]D. Cid, "IPv4 vs IPv6 Performance Comparison", Sucuri Blog, 2016. [Online]. Available:
https://blog.sucuri.net/2016/08/ipv4-vs-ipv6-performance-comparison.html. [Accessed: 17-
Aug- 2019].
[4]"Six Benefits Of IPv6", IT Infrastructure Advice, Discussion, Community - Network
Computing, 2011. [Online]. Available: https://www.networkcomputing.com/networking/six-
benefits-ipv6. [Accessed: 17- Aug- 2019].
[5]"Difference Between IPv4 and IPv6 (With Comparison Chart) - TechDifferences", Tech
Differences, 2017. [Online]. Available: https://techdifferences.com/difference-between-ipv4-
and-ipv6.html. [Accessed: 17- Aug- 2019].