Comparative Analysis of IPv4 and IPv6 Network Protocols

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CSC81001
Computer Networks
Network Architecture and Protocols
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Protocol Structure.......................................................................................................................5
Comparisons of Protocol Structure of IPv4 and IPv6............................................................6
The Addressing Schemes...........................................................................................................7
IPv4 Addressing Scheme.......................................................................................................7
IPv6 Addressing Scheme.......................................................................................................8
Advantages and Disadvantages of IPv4 and IPv6......................................................................9
Disadvantages of IPv4............................................................................................................9
Advantages of IPv6................................................................................................................9
Performance.............................................................................................................................10
Deployment Figures.................................................................................................................11
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Internet Protocol.........................................................................................................3
Figure 2: protocol schema of IPv4.............................................................................................5
Figure 3: protocol structure of IPv6...........................................................................................5
Figure 4: IPv4 address format....................................................................................................7
Figure 5: IPv6 address format....................................................................................................8
Figure 6: Performance Graph...................................................................................................10

Introduction
Internet Protocol (IP) can also be called as communication protocol which is utilized for
sending messages back and forth across the computers with the help of TCP/IP which is also
called Internet Protocol Suite. The TCP/IP basically establishes an imaginary link between
host to host in order to exchange messages between them.
Presently two versions of IP are available:
1. IPv4
2. IPv6
IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4)
IPv4 protocol is widely used and installed protocol whose main aim is to connect the Internet
to devices. It is used to recognize the devices with the help of addressing system on a
network. In the interlinked systems of the networks of communication, IPv4 is used as it is
designed for this purpose also.
IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6)
So as to achieve the requirement for more Internet addresses, IPv6 web tending to is being
introduced. IPv6 is likewise named as IPng short for Internet Protocol next generation which
is the ongoing adaptation of the IP. IPv6 is the relative to IPv4.It was expected to allow the
Internet to develop continually as far as both the quantities of associated has and the traded of
information between the hosts [1].
Figure 1: Internet Protocol
IPv4 Vs IPv6
In this section, the comparisons between IPv4 and IPv6 is conducted, as discussed above both
the protocols are required for exchanging and transferring messages among devices on a
network. There is a need to compare and contrast these two protocols from one another.
Comparisons are made on the basis of following points:
1. The protocol structures
2. The addressing schemes
3. Advantages and disadvantages

4. Performance
5. Deployment figure in the last 5 years

Protocol Structure
The protocol structure of IPv4 is a variable-length packet contains header of 20 bytes and
data. All the necessary information related to routing and delivery is stored in the header.
The diagram given below is the protocol schema of IPv4
Figure 2: protocol schema of IPv4
The protocol structure of IPv6 consists of base header up to 40 bytes and data up to 65,535
bytes. Here, every packet contains a base header along with the payload. The payload
contains two parts namely data from the topmost layer and optional extension headers [2].
The figure given below is the protocol schema of IPv6
Figure 3: protocol structure of IPv6

Comparisons of Protocol Structure of IPv4 and IPv6
Comparison Points IPv4 IPv6
1. Length of
Address
The address length of IPv4 is
32-bit.
The length of the address of IPv6 is
128-bit.
2. Address
Representation
IPv4 denotes the addresses in
binary numbers as a decimal.
Addresses of IPv6 represent
the binary numbers as hexadecimal.
3. Fragmentation In order to fragment very large
structure, IPv4 needs a router.
Here end-to-end fragmentation of
datagram is done.
4. Length of
Header
Length of the header in IPv4 is
20byte.
Length of the header in IPv6 is 40
bytes.
5. Field for
Checksum
Error checking in IPv4 is
handled by using the field of
checksum in the header
structure.
IPv6, on the other hand, removes the
checksum field.
6. Payload field IPv4 does not contain the
payload field of length.
IPv6 contains the payload length
field of 16-bit.
7. Field IPv4 contains Option fields. Extension headers are present in
place of option fields in IPv6
8. Hop limit The field of time to live in IPv4
is same as the utmost of hop in
IPv6
Hop limit is present [3].

The Addressing Schemes
The address schemes of IPv4 and IPv6 are described below-
IPv4 Addressing Scheme
The IPv4 constitute manual along with DHCP configuration of address and can produce
address space up to 4.29 * 10 9 addresses. The address of IPv4 is 32-bit (4 bytes) long and
represented in decimal format.
The format of the IPv4 address is denoted as:
X.X. X.X
Where X is denoted by an octet which is separated by periods. Octet should be a value of
decimal from 0 and 255.
An IPv4 address format should include three periods along with four octets.
Example of IPv4 address format:
Figure 4: IPv4 address format

IPv6 Addressing Scheme
IPv6 bears auto-configuration along with renumbering address configuration, it can produce
address space up to 3.4 x 1038 addresses. The address of IPv6 is of 128 bits (16 bytes) long
and denoted in hexadecimal format.
The IPv6 address format is represented as:
y : y : y : y : y : y : y : y
In which y is termed as segments which are separated using colons and y should be any
hexadecimal value which can contain a value from 0 and FFFF. The address of IPv6 should
contain 8 segments and 7 colons [4].
Figure 5: IPv6 address format

Advantages and Disadvantages of IPv4 and IPv6
As the users of the internet are growing rapidly its infrastructure is also increasing as we can
use the internet in remote areas also, with the advancement of the internet there is also an
expansion of online services.The IP addressing which is unique for every entity on the net
was initially designed on 32- bit which is used in IPv4 addressing, however, there is an
addressing capability problem and many more which can be overcome by IPv6 some of the
problems are listed below.
Disadvantages of IPv4
 Security of IPv4 at the IP level
In order to maintain privacy and security while communicating at the medium of public there
is a requirement for encrypting data but with the passage of time there will be IPv4 packets
security available which is optional and it is called as internet protocol security.
 To Maintain Large Routing Tables
Approximately 87k routes are currently available in the tables for routing of internet
backbones of routers and it is very difficult to allocate ID to each of these routers as it is very
critical to allocate ID.
 IPv4 concerns regarding Quality of Service
Nowadays users of the Internet are well aware of the video conferencing, chat, etc. Which
requires real-time transferring of data which results in improving quality of service which is
typically done by UDP or TCP as the functionality of IPv4 TOs field is limited.
 Merits of IPv6 over IPv4
IPv6 has overcome the problems of IPv4 one of the major issues it has overcome is by
increasing the header length from IPv4 32bit to IPv6 128 bit.
Advantages of IPv6
 IPv6 Header Format
Now the problem of header overhead due to IPv4 is reduced by designing new header in
which both the nonessential and optional fields are moved to extension headers in the IPv6
header.
 The efficiency of Infrastructure in IPv6
In IPv6 there is an establishment of efficient addressing and infrastructure of routing. Due to
which there is a reduction in the size of the table of routing which belongs to backbone
routers which result in the necessary experience of the Internet.
 Service Quality of IPV6
Due to the presence of flow level field in the header of IPv6 the usage of the services is
increasing day by day as earlier UDP and TCP protocols are used for their streaming IPv6
provides good and better handling of packets from destination to host [5].

Performance
The performance of IPv4 and IPv6 is almost equal at least in the field of networking but there
are many fields where one is lacking from others, they both have their advantages and
disadvantages. On the basis of speed, IPv4 is little faster than IPv6 but there is also a
variation as the speed depends on the location as location plays a very crucial role in
determining the speed of these protocols. As IPv6 produce more outliers than IPv4 it is
slightly less stable than IPv4.Their performance is also compared on the basis of the rate of
connection failure and it is found out that the rate of connection failure of IPv6 is nine times
higher than the IPv4.
Figure 6: Performance Graph

Deployment Figures
In the last five years, there have been many changes in the deployment figures of IPv4 and
IPv6.While discussing the deployment figures of both the protocols let us discuss why there
is a need for Ipv6 deployment figure in the first place. As there is a rapid growth in the
number of internet users there are not enough provisions in the IPv4 figure though there is a
need for the solution that is workable.
To solve this IPv4 address market has been used in order to make additional IPv4 address
which further used by ISPs to make more IPv4 addresses but that will costly, therefore IPv6
deployment figures come to the picture which can reduce the pressure of ISP on IPv4 address
pool.